


To Like To Be

by squishy_lotus



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Age Swap, Chubby Kink, Coming of Age, Football | Soccer, M/M, Non Binary Kenma, Non-binary character, Other, Sport Swap, Texting, Trans Akaashi Keiji, Trans Character, Weight Gain, excessive use of kaomoji, feederism
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-21
Updated: 2018-08-25
Packaged: 2019-04-05 12:22:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 34,751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14044197
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/squishy_lotus/pseuds/squishy_lotus
Summary: Oikawa is a university freshman. Separated from his best friend for the first time since elementary school, he winds up in the care of his kinky roommate, his kinky roommate's kinky boyfriend, and his kinky roommate's own childhood best friend. What starts as the pursuit of higher education and alien life forms turns into a journey of self-discovery, love, friendship, and personal growth of more than one kind.





	1. The Solar System

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to everyone who's been patiently waiting for me to get to this long-advertised story! Chapter 1 is just a quick introduction but I hope this fic ends up living up to your expectations!! :D
> 
> Here is a quick guide to the age swap in case it gets confusing!
> 
> Canon 1st years are in their graduating year  
> Canon 2nd years are in their second year  
> Canon 3rd years are freshmen/in their first year

   
  


It's a few hours to Tokyo by bullet train, and another hour and a half in the subway to get to his university. He's been to the capital once before on a school trip in middle school. It was huge and crowded and he mostly remembers the planetarium. Nothing about it could prepare him for the green fields surrounding his university campus, or the fact that his dorm building is only three stories tall. To be fair there are a lot of those buildings, but there are lots of trees too. Oikawa wonders if the light pollution will be low enough that he'll be able to see the stars at night. Maybe he could even find the secret passage to the rooftop.

The cherry blossom trees are in full bloom. He has a backpack and a suitcase and a dream, like most of the first year students around him. It’s a short walk from the station to the administrative building where he gets a key to his room and they give him a bunch of fliers too. There are clubs and societies and a council. Maybe there'll be an alien club? It might be alright to not have to be the president for once.

Oikawa's room is on the second floor. He knocks but no one answers. When he finally manages to get the door open, there's no one inside. Half of the room already looks sort of settled in, so he assumes his roommate was here before him. There are no posters, but the bed looks like someone made it, upturned an entire suitcase on it and left. That's fine because the side of the room he was hoping for is the one that's free. With a little smile, Oikawa shuts the door behind him and plops his suitcase on his bed, ready to unpack.

His roommate and him both have American-style single beds with drawers underneath. Each side of the room also has a small desk with a wooden chair, and a simple closet. The door of the room opens between the foot of their beds and a decent window with no dressings occupies the center of the opposite wall. Oikawa unloads his clothes first, whistling a tune. Then he hangs his poster of the Virgo Supercluster, and the one of the observable universe, and a photo of the Pillars of Creation. He has posters of aliens and of the movie Alien and a little one of Godzilla that Iwaizumi gave him. That one goes right above his desk where he can see it when he's doing homework on his laptop. Lastly, he tucks his suitcase in a corner and unrolls his futon and hopes his roommate won't make fun of his alien plushie, a gag gift from Makki that he likes more than he'll ever admit. Finally, he hangs the little solar system he made as a kid right above his desk. He hesitates a moment, then adds the glow stars that Mattsun gave him as a parting gift too.

He's standing on the little wobbly desk with a handful of plastic stars and a roll of tape when someone softly knocks at the door.

"Come in!"  
  


 

The person who walks in has to be his roommate. The door was locked. They have to have let themselves in somehow. But it can’t be. Clearly this person is lost. There’s no way he’s going to be rooming with this person for a whole year. It’s all Oikawa can do to not drop the roll of tape and plastic stars everywhere. He swallows.

They're too beautiful.

"Hey." The person gives a head nod in Oikawa's direction without ever looking up at him. Oikawa observes for a moment before climbing down from the desk to introduce himself properly. He subtly clears his throat and puffs his chest out.

"Hi, I'm Oikawa Tooru, I look forward to living together!"

"Kozume Kenma." They nod again. "Please call me Kenma."  
  


 

Oikawa isn't shy. He had to have a thick skin to hold on to his unconventional hobby this tightly throughout all of school. On top of that, he was sort of considered the most attractive guy in his grade, so he got used to talking to people and being charismatic. Kenma... makes him shy somehow. Maybe it's because they're so beautiful or maybe it's because they seem so uncomfortable that it's contagious.

They have shoulder length silky looking hair that starts black at the root and transitions to a yellow blonde halfway through. It frames their round face and obscures their features just enough to make them look mysterious. They look at him once, quickly, and Oikawa is struck by their golden cat eyes both catlike in shape and made up with winged eyeliner. Kenma is... shapely. They're wearing black leggings and a cherry red hoodie and Oikawa has to resist looking for signs of a bra strap because he honestly can't tell what gender someone this stunning could be. He lets it go because it would be rude not to, and climbs back on his desk to finish putting up his stars. Kenma pushes some of the things on their bed to the side and slips under the covers to play with a handheld videogame.  
  


 

That night, Oikawa sits at his desk and chats with Iwaizumi, typing with one hand and eating his mom's last bento bitter sweetly with the other. He isn't too proud to admit he took a picture of it. The group chat he's been in since his first month of high school is dead. Makki and Mattsun are offline, probably at a mixer or some other type of cool university party together. Surprisingly, Iwaizumi is online.

Iwaizumi writes.

[IWA♡CHAN] How was your first day?  
[IWA♡CHAN] Anything interesting happen?  
[IWA♡CHAN] Did you get lost?

[☆TOORU☆] iwa-chan!! u always assume to worst of me ˚‧º·(˚ ˃̣̣̥⌓˂̣̣̥ )‧º·˚

He sends him a few of the pictures he took during the day. Tokyo, the skyscrapers, the subway stations, the transition to greenery, the fields around the school, and finally his room, with a blurry zoomed in shot of the Godzilla poster. They chat about those for a while until finally Oikawa breaks the news.

[☆TOORU☆] So... my roommate is really beautiful (￣一*￣)b

[IWA♡CHAN] Oh?

[☆TOORU☆] soft lookin hair, scary-good eyes, cute cats on most belongings

[IWA♡CHAN] Prettier than Makki?

[☆TOORU☆] ...honestly maybe? don't tell him i said that

[IWACHAN] I'm texting him as we speak.

[☆TOORU☆] iwa-chan!!!! (´；д；`)

[IWA♡CHAN] A boy or a girl?  
[IWA♡CHAN] Your roommate I mean.  
[IWA♡CHAN] You're in co-ed dorms, right?

[☆TOORU☆] i don't know actually

It’s kind of wild that Iwaizumi picked up on his omission, especially since Oikawa doesn’t actually live in a co-ed dorm. They’re supposed to be mixed by age, not by gender. By contextual evidence, Kenma should just be a second year boy. Even their name is masculine. Maybe Oikawa watched too much shojo anime with his older sister in middle school. He’s probably expecting Kenma to be an undercover girl and that’s why he’s overthinking this. Still there’s something about them that seemed… beyond gender.

Maybe that’s not quite it? At least on his best friend’s end. Maybe this is Iwaizumi’s way of checking in on the things they might have spoken about once and then never again. That thing where maybe both of them wouldn’t mind dating a boy. Maybe. Someday. If it was the right one. Maybe he’s trying to get Oikawa to admit he finds his boy roommate cute, or see if he’ll deny it, or try to cover it up. It doesn’t matter because Iwaizumi smoothly drops it.

[IWA♡CHAN] An alien?

[☆TOORU☆] maybe!!! hopefully!!

They talk about other things after that. Iwaizumi has been moved into his own dorm for a few days now, but he’s been busy with the training camp. They’ve made sure to chat every day since the day he left, so Oikawa is pretty up to date on things like how his roommate is also on the soccer team, how strict the floor monitor is, and how average the cafeteria food is. Still he talks about university soccer, the camp, his new teammates. He describes his intense captain, a senior year “genius” midfielder that Oikawa hates instantly. He briefly mentions their cute manager, a short chubby ginger who likes to push all of his captain’s buttons even in front of the first years’. He doesn’t mention if their manager is a boy or a girl and Oikawa thinks he should probably ask but he doesn’t. He thinks about mentioning his roommate’s own roundness but he doesn’t either. Instead, Iwaizumi tells him of an incident this morning that actually makes Oikawa snort out loud, something about the university dean, a wig, and Iwaizumi’s roommate a the first year goalie named Daichi.

Eventually, Iwaizumi has to go to sleep so he can be alert for the next day of training camp, and Oikawa logs off too. He slips on sandals to go rinse his dishes in the communal kitchen. He waves hi to everyone he sees. He doesn’t make any instant connections but that’s okay. He’s still observing.

By the time he was graduating high school, Oikawa had been voted the class president three years in a row. Everyone knew about him. Girls confessed to him every week. Boys liked to be around him. And he did all of this while also keeping perfect grades and leading both the legitimate Astronomy Club and the unofficial Aliens’ Appreciation and Discovery Club. He knew everyone in his grade, their name, birthday, club, closest friends, and general family situation. He could talk to anyone and everyone. It’s a skill he built over time. Starting over isn’t scary anymore, not like it was when he graduated elementary school and finally attended the same school as Iwa-chan. It’s still kind of a hassle.

To begin with, he should probably figure out how to address his own roommate.  
  


 

When he walks back into their shared room, Kenma has moved significantly, curled up on their desk chair now in a t-shirt and short shorts. Their thighs are rounded out and look soft, spilling out over each other. Oikawa feels a lump build in his throat. He feels like he’s the one undercover, an alien in Kenma’s world. It bothers him that they waited until he was gone to move. They shouldn’t have to be scared of him. Wordlessly, he crosses the invisible line into Kenma’s half of the room. They sense this transgression immediately, flipping their head around to look at him and almost slamming their laptop shut. Oikawa hadn’t even noticed the computer, nevermind anything that might have been displayed on the screen. He wants to tell Kenma this but he doesn’t know to be reassuring to them yet. Instead, he says.

“Hey,”

“Hey.” Kenma is tense, even as they shift their hair to shield their eyes. Oikawa realizes he’s looming so he drags his own chair over, not as closely into Kenma’s space as he might with someone else. Kenma doesn’t say anything else, but they don’t go back to their electronics so he knows he has their attention.

“Hey,” He tries again. “So, what are you studying?”

“Information technology.”

“Is that something you like?” Oikawa smiles. He should have guessed.

“Not particularly.”

“Oh?” That throws him off.

“It’s easy.”

“That’s fair.” Oikawa thinks of every coach who tried to pressure him into this or that sport. He doesn’t think it would have been easy, but to listen to them he definitely seemed better suited for that than astrobiology at the time. Now he’s pale and scrawny in a way that girls especially seem to like aesthetically, but the boys who did go into sports call a waste. Watching Iwa-chan play gives him an idea of what it might be like to naturally be good at something others find difficult.

Kenma hums. They don’t elaborate. They don’t ask anything back either. Oikawa doesn’t really know what to talk about next. He doesn’t know much about cats and he really doesn’t know anything about video games or eyeliner. He should just ask about what he wants to know. He’s not sure how. He was trying to suss it out without having to talk about it, but Kenma never said a sentence long enough to give Oikawa a clue.

“Hey, Kenma?” Kenma still has to look up when they’re both sitting down. Oikawa gets a real eyeful of those brilliant orbs. “How should I address you?”

“Kenma is fine…” Kenma repeats more or less what they said earlier, confused by the question. They add. “I don’t care much for honorifics or classifying people by age and stuff…” Their voice is low but not low enough that Oikawa can fully give up his line of questioning. In the silence that stretches between them, Kenma squirms. Clearly he just needs to be blunt.

“Are you a girl?”

“W-what?” Kenma’s voice cracks.

“A-are you an undercover girl like in a shojo manga?”

Kenma laughs.

It’s a beautiful sound.

“So, are you?” It’s a winy stretch of a sentence that sounds more like himself, and Kenma seems to be able to tell.

“No,” they say. “I’m not a girl.” They smile like they’ve made a decision. “I’m not a boy either.” They look at him again and Oikawa’s heart leaps. He doesn’t know what that means but he can’t wait to learn.

“An alien?” He jokes, hoping he’s found a way to put them at ease.

Kenma laughs again. Oikawa wants to find all their buttons and press them again and again until all they can hear is that sound over and over forever.

“Not an alien.” They smirk and that’s new and wonderful. “I’m non-binary.”

“Binary? Like code?”

“Like boys on one side and girls on the other,” Kenma scrunches their brows. Again they seem to be making a deliberate decision. “I always had long hair and didn’t talk a lot, but I still had to wear pants in school.” Kenma sounds distant, like they’re remembering it as they say it. “But when I was finally able to take pills and wear a skirt I hated it. My parents didn’t understand, I didn’t either. Kuro…” The colour black? “Kuro is the only one who really got it. He helped a lot.” A person then. “So I…” Kenma uses the formal neutral self-pronoun. “I became I. Myself. That’s it.” Kenma looks at him again and Oikawa nods to show he understood all of that. He doesn’t know what pills Kenma was referring to but he can infer what they were trying to do when they said wear a skirt. It makes sense. It all makes sense. Oikawa smiles.

“Kenma-chan?” He jokes. Kenma grimaces. “Kenma-kun?” He pushes. Kenma sticks their tongue out. “Kenma-tan, Kenma-chin, Kenma-rin—” Kenma reaches over and lightly punches Oikawa’s shoulder. They both laugh together and Oikawa sees stars.

High on this victory, they tentatively chat about other things, and get to know each other properly. Kenma is still reserved but that’s okay. Oikawa asks them what game they’re playing, what school they went to, anything he can think of. He finds himself really wanting to know the answers not just to catalogue them but to have them, to know them and know Kenma. Kenma asks things back, tentatively at first. Oikawa can tell it’s not something they’re used to doing and he really appreciates the effort.

They’re both night owls, it turns out. They chat on and off for hours. Kenma finally sorts through all the things on their bed, throwing clothes in drawers, books on a shelf, and other things anywhere it’ll fit. Meanwhile, Oikawa busies himself memorizing his class schedule. He asks Kenma where some of the classrooms are and they know a few of them. Before they both go to bed Kenma feels comfortable enough to pull out their makeup bag and set up their little light up mirror on their desk.

 

Oikawa exchanges pleased looks with his alien plushie and counts plastic stars to fall asleep.

 


	2. The Milky Way

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oikawa makes a friend and witnesses a planetary nebula.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you with your patience with this off-schedule chapter! For future purposes, I am trying to update every week on Wednesday nights, but I hope you accept this Friday afternoon offering :)
> 
> There's a very mildly described masturbation + accidental voyeurism scene in this chapter. If you would like to avoid it, stop reading at the end of the chatlog that ends with [IWA♡CHAN] saying ''...Thanks.'' and start reading again at the beginning of the paragraph that starts with ''They're at the library when''.

 

 

Oikawa gets used to the rhythm of university life pretty quickly. He goes to his classes and doesn’t fall asleep, so automatically his teachers like him. He didn’t really believe his sister when she told him how relaxed university classes are. Of course the material is interesting, but most students don’t seem that interested and his professors don’t seem to care. Especially in first year when he’s sharing classes with people from all sorts of programs, the pressure is nothing compared to what everyone in the room had to face to even get here. He gets it, which is how he still manages to make friends with them despite this core difference. It’s easy to pretend he isn’t actually drinking it all in when most people have their eyes on their phones the entire time.

In his off time he joins the astronomy club. They’re not nearly as active as his high school club was but he gets open access to the observatory so he can’t complain. There isn’t a dedicated alien club and he doesn’t feel as enthused without Iwa-chan to go to a kaiju club meeting, but sometimes he catches Kenma in their room not sleeping or studying and they watch an alien movie or two. For someone who seems as shy as them they don’t spend nearly as much time in their room as he’d expect.

Something that does exceed his expectations is the cafeteria food. This is Japan so Oikawa wasn’t expecting anything too gross, but after hearing of Hajime’s experience he wasn’t holding his breath. The first few days he actually avoided it, choosing to buy some food from the convenience store instead. Unfortunately, the dorm rooms don’t have fridges and he didn’t think to bring a kettle so his options become pretty limited pretty quickly. That’s why when a group of classmates he’s been chatting with decide to go eat there together after class he can’t really fight it.

The cafeteria is big and well-lit with large windows and a big skylight. It’s not rush hour anymore but the place is still fairly crowded, it gives him a sense of how much bigger than his high school the campus really is. Maybe because of that, it’s set up more like a food court than a normal cafeteria. Different foods are presented at different counters grouped by cuisine type. There’s home-style cooking, a bento making station, American fast food, a place that only serves things raw. He tries a little bit of everything and everything is great. He takes a few pictures to send to Iwaizumi to make him jealous. He never avoids it after that.

He starts to get popular. He makes friends with most of his classmates, including a lanky guy taller than him named Kuroo. He likes Kuroo a lot because he’s the only other guy in his biology class who seems to take things even remotely seriously. As soon as they get partnered up for a lab Oikawa can tell how much of a dork he is. They get along famously and even if their friendship is different than what he has with Iwaizumi or how he interacts with Makki and Mattsun, Oikawa feels like he found his people, even if it is just one person.

As for Makki and Mattsun, they finally get back in the group chat after Golden Week. Mattsun wordlessly posts a selfie of him and Makki squinting at the camera and what has to be the sun, heads on a classroom table, the angle just right to show off the cans of energy drink they’re both poorly hiding. Makki quickly types underneath.

[M(✧Д✧)KKI] just ended a full weekbenderrrrr(Дﾟ≡ﾟДﾟ)

[MATTSUN|ω・)] more like a full month eyyyyyyyy

Oikawa isn’t sure if he should believe them. It’s 3am when they send it. He snorts and turns around in his chair to show Kenma the picture. Kenma gives him a small smile and turns back to their game. Oikawa looks back at his phone to find Iwaizumi dishing out the typed out scolding of a lifetime. He flops down on his bed to enjoy the show, adding snarky comments where he can until the topic turns his way.

[M(✧Д✧)KKI] so lverboyyyy｡.｡:+♡*♥  
[M( ✧Д✧)KKI]we hear i have competition now, huh?(๑•̀ㅁ•́๑)✧

[MATTSUN|ω・)] huhhuh?(ʘ言ʘ╬)

[M(✧Д✧)KKI] huuuuuuuuuh????(ಠ益ಠ)

[MATTSUN|ω・)] pics or it didn’t happen!

[M(✧Д✧)KKI] yeah!!

Oikawa looks over his shoulder. He hesitates. Kenma is fully absorbed in their game. He looks over their curvy body, butt spilling out a little from either side of their chair. They’ve steadily been gaining weight over the semester. Oikawa doesn’t place a judgement value on it, he just notices. He could just take a quick picture now or ask Kenma to send him one although his roommate would probably refuse. It’s not like his friends would make fun of him for being attracted to someone… bigger? Would they? They wouldn’t. They wouldn’t make fun of Kenma directly either. But maybe they’d think about it. Maybe they would tease him for it a bit. It’s not worth it.

[☆TOORU☆] i don’t have any OTL

[M(✧Д✧)KKI](╯°□°）╯︵┻━┻

[MATTSUN|ω・)] (┛◉Д◉)┛彡┻━┻

[M(✧Д✧)KKI](ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻

[☆TOORU☆] ಥ_ಥ…guys…

 

 

Oikawa quickly finds out that Kenma likes to share snacks as a way of being a friendly roommate. It starts with a bag of pudding gummies and then it’sprawn chips and mini seasonal kit kats and something else until it becomes a part of their routine. At first he tries to refuse but now Oikawa always accepts. It’s cute and it gives him something to look forward to when he comes crashing into his room at night after a full day of actually doing work or sometimes just hanging with Kuroo. Oikawa knows that between that and the three, sometimes four full meals he eats at the cafeteria every day he’s been putting on weight, but he’s content to ignore it for now. So what if his pants are getting a little tight? That just means they show off his ass better! He slaps his lightly puffy cheeks in the mirror and continues brushing his teeth, glad he had this talk with himself.

 

 

[IWA♡CHAN] Hey.  
[IWA♡CHAN] How are you?

[☆TOORU☆] I’m good! How are you? （*＾ワ＾*）

[IWA♡CHAN] I’m alright.  
[IWA♡CHAN] We have our first official match tomorrow.

[☆TOORU☆]･:*:･ﾟ☆ｄ(≧∀≦)ｂﾟ+.ﾟｲｲ  
[☆TOORU☆] good luck iwa-chan!!!

[IWA♡CHAN] How do you know I made it on the starting line?

[☆TOORU☆] of course you did, you’re iwa-chan  
[☆TOORU☆] I’ve seen you play.

[IWA♡CHAN] …Thanks.

 

 

That night, Oikawa wakes up to get a drink of water and freezes. He hasn’t moved much yet so he carefully lowers himself back into a fully reclined position. He holds his breath, blushing brightly in the dark. He closes his eyes to hear better. If this is what he thinks it is…

In the stillness he makes out short little breaths, quiet like feathers falling softly onto the neck of a shamisen.

He opens his eyes again and stares at the ceiling while his eyes adjust to the darkness. His stars have almost stopped glowing so that gives him an idea of what time it is. The sun should be coming up soon. He should just go back to sleep. He should give his roommate privacy, at least. He’s not sure he can.

Oikawa turns his head, slowly. Kenma and him sleep with their heads at opposite ends of their beds so he doesn’t have to worry as much about making accidental eye contact. He scans the bed. They’re fully covered by their comforter. The mass quivers lightly. Oikawa can barely make out the top of their head against their dark pillowcase. Really there’s not much to see, he should just turn over and at least pretend to sleep more convincingly. He should be doing that regardless. The blankets move slow, then slightly faster, then slow again, always much less than if it were Oikawa trying to do anything. Kenma's breath hikes up.

“Ah…” The little sound barely breaks the rhythmic silence in the room.

It feels wrong to have filed that information away, but technically Oikawa has a small idea of what Kenma's genitals probably look like. None of that matches with the way they move, ever so slightly, pleasuring themselves. It’s fascinating. It’s erotic. It’s a little puzzling. It’s none of Oikawa’s business.

“Aa…” Kenma's hips lift off the bed, just a bit. “’Shii…” They exhale through their nose and go still, slumping against the mattress.

Oikawa shifts around slightly, embarrassed. The only thing worse than watching his roommate get off without their knowledge would be to jerk off about it. Kenma turns to face the wall and fall asleep. Oikawa does the same, willing himself to sleep. By the time his eyelids fall shut the sun is half up, squares of light shining against the posters on his wall. 

 

 

They’re in the library when he tells Kuroo.

“What?? You live in 214C?!” Kuroo launches his long torso halfway across their table. A few people turn to look at him.“That’s where Kenma lives!” Oikawa blinks. His address just slipped out nonchalantly, he didn’t think it would be a big deal. He’s not exactly prepared to have an actual conversation about it.

“Yeah, they’re my roommate.” He’s too distracted by the research books he’s surrounded himself with to notice Kuroo’s internal crisis. He taps his cheek with the UFO eraser on the tip of his pencil and traces over lines of text with his finger, trying to drown out his friend and focus.

“They’re your roommate?!” Kuroo inches impossibly closer. Oikawa can feel his breath on his face. He sits stock still to stop himself from shivering. He waits a beat, then two. The words dance across the page. Kuroo slumps in his seat. “Aww man, they didn’t even tell me!” He puffs. “Not like we’ve been seeing each other that much anyway…” He pouts.

“Hmm?” Oikawa finally looks up, giving up on his essay for now.

“I should come visit!” Kuroo declares to the ceiling before getting shushed by a passing group of girls. He shrinks down in his seat. “Yeah, that’s what I’ll do.” He mumbles mostly to himself.

“Sure,” Oikawa shrugs. “Not that you seem to need my approval.” Oikawa rolls his eyes good-naturedly while packing away his things.

“Thanks for giving it anyway,” Kuroo grins before stealing one of Oikawa’s books. It’s a chain reaction after that.Oikawa roughly ruffles his hair, Kuroo yanks on his arm to bring him closer. He sticks his other hand in his mouth, readying to give Oikawa the worst wet willy but his elbow hits full throttle into something, toppling a tall stack of outdated CDs behind him. They clatter noisily on the tile floor. They freeze. Oikawa’s hand gripping Kuroo’s hair, Kuroo yanking on him and sucking on his fingers. Everyone who had been nonchalant enough to ignore them before can’t really find a way to overlook that. They get kicked out.

“Wanna come over now?”

 

 

On the way to the dorms, Oikawa sends Kenma a quick text.

[☆TOORU☆] heading over your way now with a Kuroo Tetsurou? he says he knows you somehow  ( ・◇・)？

[=^･KENMA･^=] ikno  
[=^･KENMA･^=] he txtdalrdy

It gives Oikawa at least a little bit of context to know that Kuroo has Kenma's number. Oikawa had to pry it out of them to get it, bribing them with three different kinds of Calpis before they’d even let him touch their phone. There didn’t appear to be many contacts in there when he typed his information in so Kuroo must be one of the chosen few. Kuroo and his long legs take the stairs up two by two. Oikawa struggles to keep up.

 

 

“Honey, we’re home!!” Kuroo bursts through the door as soon as Oikawa has it unlocked. Kenma seems unphased.

“Hey, Kuro.” He nods at Oikawa. “Tooru.”Oikawa waves. Something about the way Kenma says Kuroo’s name is familiar. He’s struggling to remember the particulars of a talk they had. He remembers tripping on something. A colour.

“Oh!” He grins. “Kuro?” He points at Kuroo. Kenma nods. Kuroo laughs at him.

“Didn’t put two and two together until now?” Oikawa laughs at himself too.

“No,” He admits.

“Old Kenma here and I are childhood friends!” Kuroo claps Kenma on the back and Kenma doesn’t seem to mind. “Back when they were a wee little tot!” Kuroo winks at them.

“Kuro has always been taller.” Kenma fills in.

“And Kenma has always been wider!”

“Have not.”

“Have too.”

“Have not.”

“Have too.”

“…Have not.”

Seeing them banter back and forth really brings out a new side of Kenma for Oikawa. He’s also pleasantly surprised at how casually they can talk about something so loaded. It almost sounds like an inside joke. Oikawa looks down at his own body for half a second. That’s how long he can manage without wanting to think dark thoughts. Kenma offers him a snack, fugashi today. He takes it and tries not to think about it. They offer one to Kuroo too who shares a look with Kenma that seems to make them blush.

They hang out all day comfortably.

They joke, and chat, and trash talk their professors. Kenma lets himself be blunt and sarcastic in a way that Oikawa hasn’t gotten to hear yet. It’s really nice. They emerge from their room once to hit up the cafeteria. It’s a bit after normal supper hours so it’s not as crowded. Kenma seems relieved by it. Still, Kuroo seems to take on a bit of a guide position, accompanying Kenma to the stations they want to go to. They occupy a small booth in the corner of the big room and make sure to clean up behind them. Oikawa doesn’t notice how full he is until he has to stand. Maybe getting a large fry and a second bowl of katsudon on top of his curry and croquettes was a bad idea. Still, they sneak cookies on their way out.

When they come back, they play a multiplayer game on Kenma's computer and Oikawa loses every time. As a consolation prize, Kenma torrents the latest sci-fi flick in theaters and they pile on Kenma's bed to watch it, Kuroo in the centre. Kenma reveals the drawer where he hides his stash of snacks to Kuroo’s great amusement. They all pick their favourites. Oikawa is too riveted to the screen to notice but sometimes he thinks he can hear Kuroo and Kenma chat quietly next to him. If they really haven’t spoken much lately like Kuroo had said, he’s glad they’re getting to catch up a bit.

When Kuroo leaves for the night, Oikawa asks Kenma if they’re dating.

 

 

“What.”

“Are you dating?”

“No, I mean, I heard you, but. What.” Oikawa likes hearing the lingering snark in Kenma's voice from hanging out with Kuroo for an extended period of time, even if it is directed at him.

“Well? It seems logical!”

Kenma snorts before bursting out into full laughter.

“I’m telling him you asked, you know, you’re never going to live this down,” They say, shoulders still shaking. Oikawa sticks his tongue out and Kenma looks amused. They’re back in their own beds now so Oikawa can’t just lean over and see if that’s what Kenma's doing on their phone. Judging by the look on their face it must be.

“Are you dating anyone else then? You’re gone an awful lot, Kenma-chan-kun-tannn!” Kenma seems to study him before answering.

“…I am.”

Oikawa flops on his back and sticks his legs in the air.

“Who isss itttt?”

“A second year pre-med student.” Kenma knows that alone won’t satisfy Oikawa’s curiosity. “Akaashi Keiji.” A boy then probably. Maybe. “My boyfriend.” Kenma clarifies like they know what he’s thinking. Oikawa doesn’t get much more out of them before they get lost fulfilling their daily goals for one of their cell phone games. He logs in to the group chat and quickly types.

[☆TOORU☆] pretty roommate-san is dating someone!! ｡.｡:+♡*♥

[M(✧Д✧)KKI] Σ(ﾟДﾟ；)

[MATTSUN|ω・)] ∑ヾ(￣0￣;ﾉ

[M(✧Д✧)KKI] guess you chance to snipe them has come and gone︵‿︵‿︵‿︵

[IWA♡CHAN] Where you interested in dating them in the first place?

Oikawa doesn’t know what to say to that. He looks at Kenma, glowing in the bluish light of their phone. He thinks about getting to see them in a new way today. He looks at their hair, their skin, the places where their shirt clings to their cute stomach rolls. He thinks about touching them. Their rolls, their skin their hair. He momentarily slips and thinks about them touching themselves.

[MATTSUN|ω・)] pssst °。  
[MATTSUN|ω・)] I think we broke him…

[M(✧Д✧)KKI] ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

The conversation turns to other topics and Oikawa is off the hook. By the time they finish chatting, Kenma has fallen asleep holding their phone. Oikawa thinks he should go over and tuck them in, but he doesn’t trust himself enough. Instead, he turns the lights off and gathers his things to take a midnight shower using his phone as a flashlight like a confused flustered tool.

In the shower, he’s hyperaware of his body. The swells and creases he’s been trying to gloss over. The little red stretchmarks he’s been ignoring. His stomach is forming a little pouch where it once was flat. His nipples seem puffier. Have his thighs always rubbed together like this? It’s the end of May, he’s only been in university for two months. How many pounds could he have possibly put on? He wishes he was more like Kenma and didn’t care about this kind of stuff. He hurries to finish the last of his routine. He tries to clear his head while washing his hair but he swears he can feel the flab on his arms moving as he scrubs.

 

 

[KUROO(=‐ω‐=)] YOU THOUGHT WE WERE DATING?

[☆TOORU☆]（＾・ω・＾）

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next week get ready to see Iwaizumi!! See you then!


	3. The Virgo Supercluster

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A planetary conjunction occurs in mid June.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hehe this chapter was getting long enough that I actually had to split it in two! (Although it's still late so I don't have much to toot my own horn about lol...)

 

 

“Really?!”Kuroo wheezes out, stomping his foot down on the concrete. They’ve learned. They don’t meet in the library anymore. Instead, they’re at the park, monopolizing a bench like it’s their home base while around them the city tries to function on a hot summer day. June came fast and hard. Sweat drips down Oikawa’s neck and he can’t help but worry that his thighs are spilling out of his shorts in an unflattering way. Kuroo is kind enough not to mention it, not that he’s stopping himself from laughing at Oikawa’s expense about other things.

“Stop making fun of me!” Oikawa wines. “How was I supposed to know?”

“I’m surprised, that’s all! They’re attached at the fleshy hip those two,” Kuroo laughs at his own joke and then laughs at Oikawa when it goes completely over his head. He doesn’t seem to want to stop on his own so Oikawa launches a calculated low ball at him.

“You know even when you’re laughing you get so emo about them,” He remarks.

“Got me there,” Kuroo says, shooting a finger gun first at Oikawa’s head and then his heart. He still chuckles under his breath. Regardless of their relationship, Kuroo really is hurting. He takes a big gulp of honey green tea and looks in the distance at kids playing in a water spray. He seems really far away for a while. “I’ve known them most of my life you know.” He’s not looking at him but Oikawa knows he’s talking to him. “It’s hard when things change.” Kuroo finishes his tea and throws the plastic bottle in the recycling bin on the other side of Oikawa. He stands. “Do you ever just miss middle school?”

Oikawa thinks about it. Middle school was good to him. He was at the same school as Iwaizumi and in the same class too, most years. They wouldn’t meet Makki and Mattsun until high school but they had other friends that they’ve since lost touch with. Middle school was the only time that he and Iwaizumi lived anywhere near their school so they would bike to it every day and play games out loud instead of having to take a train together where they had to be quiet. Amongst his memories of trees, sweat and sunny days, he remembers the day Iwaizumi announced that he wouldn’t be following Oikawa to Tokyo.

“Yeah.”  


 

 

[☆TOORU☆] hey iwa-chan

[IWA♡CHAN] Yeah?

[☆TOORU☆] how’s your season going?

[IWA♡CHAN] Really good.  
[IWA♡CHAN] It’s challenging, but rewarding.  
[IWA♡CHAN] We’re going to make it to the Miyagi Top 4.

[☆TOORU☆] that’s impressive, iwa-chan! especially at the university level!

[IWA♡CHAN] Yeah.  
[IWA♡CHAN] I still can’t believe it’s happening.  
[IWA♡CHAN] I think we might even make it to nationals.  


 

 

“This is Akaashi.” Kenma says without looking up from their homework. The boy sitting next to them on their bed waves simply. “This is Tooru.” They say for the boy's benefit. He's beautiful.

“Nice to meet you!” Oikawa sets his backpack by the foot of his bed and makes the appropriate gestures to an older classmate.

“Nice to meet you.” His voice is deep and quiet in response. A good match for Kenma, probably.

They have midnight black hair and tan, even skin. They’re bigger than Kenma and seem taller too although that’s hard to tell sitting down. They have beautiful eyes.

“Do you two mind if I study here a bit? I can always go to the library if you two want time alone?” Oikawa smiles.

Kenma eyes him up like they don’t trust his intentions. They’d be right, not that Oikawa would say it outright. He’s just curious is all. Oikawa rocks back and forth on his feet, humming while his roommate makes their decision. Kenma looks ready to boot him out for that alone.

“That’s not necessary.” Akaashi says.

“It is.” Kenma says, looking up at Oikawa with a not quite frown. Akaashi turns to them questioningly.

“We’re just studying.” He says.

“I know.”

“I won’t make a noise!” Oikawa promises with his eyes closed.

“Fine.”Kenma puffs out.

One by one, Oikawa pulls out his notes and then his worksheet and then individual pencils which he sets up at his desk in an equally slow and deliberate manner. He sits in his chair in one position, then another, and finally wiggles just to make the wood creek. He should pull on headphones but he doesn’t want to so he doesn’t. He can feel Kenma staring holes in the back of his head and he hears Akaashi tease them for it. He decides to add to it. He pulls out his phone.

[☆TOORU☆] what was thaaaat??

He can hear Kenma's phone vibrate. Oikawa isn’t sure if they’re going to ignore it, but he hears it being picked up and flipped open and knows he’s being received when Akaashi emits a low chuckle.

[=^･KENMA･^=] nothin.

[☆TOORU☆](≖‿≖)  
[☆TOORU☆] mmm hmmmmm

[=^･KENMA･^=] rly.

He can tell by their sigh that Kenma won’t humour him much longer so he opens his laptop and sends the group chat a message to keep himself busy.

[☆TOORU☆] ｷﾀ━━ヽ(ﾟ∀ﾟ)ﾉ━( ﾟ∀)ﾉ━(　　ﾟ)ﾉ━ヽ(　　)ﾉ━ヽ(ﾟ　　)━ヽ(∀ﾟ )ﾉ━ヽ(ﾟ∀ﾟ)ﾉ━━!!!!  
[☆TOORU☆] there are 2 of them now!!!!!!!!

[M(✧Д✧)KKI]( ✧Д✧) OMG!!

[MATTSUN|ω・)] SRSLY?(ﾟ┏Д┓ﾟ ;)

Oikawa considers taking a picture, but again he doesn’t. When his friends press him for details he talks about every other thing he can think of but the swell of Akaashi’s belly spilling onto his lap. He’s starting to feel pretty weird about his avoidance. To cope, he pulls out a sweet milkbread he bought at the convenience store earlier in the day and eats it, taking extra pleasure in crinkling the plastic packaging in all the worst ways. He would be more of a bother but then a new chat window opens on his screen. It’s Iwaizumi.

[IWA♡CHAN] So I’ve been thinking…

[☆TOORU☆] yeah?

[IWA♡CHAN] I know Makki and Mattsun are planning for all of us to meet during Tanabata but…  
[IWA♡CHAN] That seems like a long time before I can see my best friend.

[☆TOORU☆] oh ho?(((o(*ﾟ▽ﾟ*)o)))

[IWA♡CHAN] Shut up.  
[IWA♡CHAN] What are you doing next weekend?  
[IWA♡CHAN] We actually have two days in a row without practice for once.

[☆TOORU☆] oh I don’t know, I might have to check my schedule……..  ಸ‿ಸ

[IWA♡CHAN] Trashkawa.

[☆TOORU☆] Just kidding!! *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧  


 

“So?” Kenma slinks into their chair and turns it toward Oikawa’s side of the room as soon as Akaashi is gone for the night. Oikawa wonders how it feels, having a serious partner. He wants to know if Kenma has butterflies, he wants to know if they can still feel the place on their cheek where Akaashi kissed them goodbye. The yearning feels embarrassing so he doesn't. Instead, he jumps back into teasing mode.

“What?” Oikawa feigns innocence.

“…What did you think?”  Kenma sounds grumpy. Oikawa is flattered. He also can’t help but picture Kenma doing the same thing with Kuroo a year or two or however long ago Kenma and Akaashi became a thing.

“You don’t need my approval Kenmachin~”

“I know.” Kenma looks away.

“He seems nice.” Kenma regards him with a deadpan expression. “Okay okay, actually he’s kind of intimidating? And really cool somehow?”Kenma seems to brighten a little at that. “He's a classic beauty, really. And taller than I thought. And…” Oikawa kind of wants to hide his face in his hands when he says it. “And he’s really pretty.”

Oikawa seems to pass Kenma's test.  They turn away. Oikawa thinks that’s the end of it, but he swears he hears Kenma mumble “You should tell Kuroo that.” under his breath.

“I’m not reporting back to him, you know.” He says on a hunch. Kenma freezes.

“Okay.” They say finally.  


 

 

Iwaizumi is coming for a visit. He’s coming here to see him. He’s going to see him. Soon. Now. Well. Today.

Oikawa shouldn’t panic. It's his best friend. He panics.

He thrashes his legs around although even that’s difficult with the way the stiff jeans trap his thicker legs. None of his pants seem to fit. His shirts are all clingy. How did he let this happen? He’s on his back on his bed, legs dangling off the sides, sucking in his gut trying to zip his favourite pair of blue jeans. What the hell? How the hell? He thought he was being careful somehow, even though as he thinks it he knows it’s bullshit. He hasn’t been ‘careful’ at all, whatever that’s supposed to mean. He yanks and yanks on the sides but the button just won’t button. He’s getting out of breath just trying to get dressed. How much did he gain?

“Kenmaaaaa…” Oikawa whines. He drops his hands. What progress he managed to get with the zipper pulls back down on its own.

His best friend is a professional athlete. Oikawa has never felt inferior about it. Until now.

“Kenma.” Oikawa looks down his nose at his roommate curled up in the furthest corner of their bed, obviously blushing and looking like they’ve been trying not to look. “Kenma, I got fat.” He announces.

He finally acknowledges his body out loud.

Kenma wordlessly gets up. They fiddle with their baggy clothes for a second and then walk over to his closet. Silently, they go about picking him a flattering outfit.

“Here.” They say, dropping it next to his collapsed form. Then, almost as an afterthought they add. “You’ll be fine.”

 

 

Oikawa meets Iwaizumi at the train station. He fidgets with the hem of his jacket, the boxy one that makes his shoulders look great. It’s a cool enough day that he doesn’t seem out of place for June. He can kind of ignore his pudgy stomach if he straightens up his posture. He feels it lightly bushing against his baggy white shirt. He doesn't know how Kenma knew that one would still be loose. He also doesn't know how he was convinced to wear sweatpants out. They look dressy enough, he thinks. They're black with white stripes, and cuffed, and that's in right now. He practices sucking in while he waits but as soon as he sees his best friend all thoughts of self-consciousness fly out the window.

“Iwa-chan!!”He waves him over. Iwaizumi doesn’t even seem displeased to hear the nickname like he often is in public. Instead his face lights up and he weaves through people like only a soccer player could. He drops his sports bag to give Oikawa the best hug he’s ever had. Oikawa hugs him back, hard. Iwaizumi's nose is buried in his neck, his spiky hair tickles Oikawa's cheek. He smells exactly the same.

“I missed you.” The emotion in Iwaizumi's voice would make Oikawa tremble if it wasn’t for how tightly he’s holding him.  


 

They walk around campus and the surrounding area. Iwaizumi is just as surprised by the greenery as he was. He didn’t bring much so they don’t bother dropping it off. Instead they walk through a little park and between the different university buildings. They go to the shops and look at stationary, cleats, and an honestly stunning astrolabe. Finally, Iwaizumi announces he's hungry and they go eat someplace Oikawa hasn’t been yet. He's relieved. He's been hungry for hours by then but refused to be the one to say it, least it bring attention to something unfavourable. It’s a cute independent family restaurant that serves Iwaizumi’s favourite dish and a few local specialties. The older woman who owns the place herds them to a window seat and makes sure they have tea and water before they’ve even asked for it. The furniture feels really solid like it’s all been hand crafted and the art on the walls looks hand painted too.

Oikawa is self-conscious at first to be eating in front of Iwaizumi, but he relaxes into the situation and enjoys his best friend’s company instead. His best friend who has just gotten more buff and more tan somehow in their time apart. They chat at least a little bit almost everyday but they still have so much to tell each other. Iwaizumi gives him a play by play of all their games so far. He proudly recounts his goals, his team’s plays, his captain’s passing accuracy and the time the attacker on his team that Oikawa nicknamed Mad Dog tackled a player on the opposing team and almost bit him. Oikawa talks about his classes and brags about his first university confession from a girl in his chemistry class. He turned her down of course. He always does, but Iwaizumi always asks anyway.

"So, have you seen any aliens yet?" Iwaizumi is serious and Oikawa loves him for it.

"Not yet, but I have an idea."

 

 

Oikawa always keeps his key to the observatory on the same ring as his dorm key, just in case. In the few months since he got it, he hasn't gotten to use it as much as he would want, but he still knows his way around. He went once with Kenma and he's been twice with Kuroo. Mostly he comes alone. Once, the door was unlocked and he walked in on a couple kissing. The girl had only been to two of their club meetings and she looked really sheepish, but Oikawa light-heartedly reassured her of their confidentiality before making a swift exit and even locked the door for them.

Now he unlocks the door, praying that they'll be the only ones. They make their way up in silence. Oikawa can tell that Iwaizumi is impressed and it makes his chest puff up. He's also huffing and puffing because stairs are hard on a full stomach, but that he is doing his best to minimize. The lights are off and when he flicks them on, no couples yelp or scuttle. Oikawa flips another switch and the roof starts to open up. Then, he climbs up the steel ladder and starts prepping the big telescope. Iwaizumi whistles.

"You know how to work this thing? " He asks, setting his bag down.

"Not to brag--"

"You're bragging already."

Oikawa laughs.

"But yes, I do know my way around several pieces of equipment~" Oikawa distracts himself with setting up the telescope so he doesn't have to face his own embarrassing innuendo. He doesn't look, but he can feel Iwaizumi wander around the small room in awe. Finally, he spots something good to focus on and calls Iwaizumi over.

There isn't much room at the top of the ladder. There's a platform, sure, but the surface area of the circle is probably less than three feet, judging by the diameter and how cramped he feels. Iwaizumi's skin is hot. He probably shouldn't know that. He might not have known that had they both not spent the last semester apparently centered on accumulating as much mass as possible in their own way. Between Iwaizumi's hard muscles and his own pliant flesh, there is little room to breathe let alone wiggle. Iwaizumi is crouched, looking at the moon and Oikawa is trying hard not to look at his ass. The only thing stopping him is the knowledge that if he shifted to do that, his stomach would brush against Iwaizumi's side, betraying him.

Iwaizumi straightens up. Oikawa could swear he can see the stars in his eyes.

"Could you show me something else?"

"Of course," Oikawa grins.

He shows Iwaizumi constellations, planets, and galaxies. It's not the most powerful telescope in the world but it does the job. They spend what feels like moments but ends up being hours, cramped against the metal railing of the platform, trying and sometimes failing to give each other space to look at the sky. They laugh. They chat. They breathe out in awe. The warm air that filters in from the open roof makes the normally sterile room smell like the plums yellowing outside.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next week Iwaizumi meets Kenma.


	4. The Observable Universe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oikawa does his best to keep Asteroid Iwaizumi from knocking him out of orbit. As always, he's exaggerating.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this is so short and so late!!! To make up for it, I am planning two chapters for next week, one on Wednesday and one on Thursday! In the meantime I hope you enjoy this little transition!!
> 
> TW: Oikawa has some internalized fatphobia that leads to light disordered eating. If that is triggering for you, skip the section between the paragraph that ends with "He doesn't find anything." and the one that starts with "They take the subway".

 

 

Oikawa wakes up groggy and it takes him a while to figure out why the ceiling seems so far away. He slept on the floor. He rubs his eyes and remembers how Iwaizumi didn't bring a futon so last night he set his on the floor and gave Iwaizumi his bed and a blanket. They came in so late from the observatory that Kenma was actually sleeping, and Iwaizumi was quick to follow suit. Speaking of his best friend, his hand is sticking out from the side of the mattress. He shouldn't. Kenma is still sleeping, Oikawa can tell because it's not noon yet. The curtains are still shut. Iwaizumi is snoring lightly. Oh well.

He yanks on it hard.

 "TRASHKAWA!!"

Iwaizumi frees his hand and hits him in the face with a pillow. Oikawa screeches and tries to reciprocate. He misses by a foot and his pillow becomes ammunition used against him.  He gets hit by one, two, three pillows. The third one hits the back of his head. Oikawa turns around, impressed with Iwaizumi's bending of physics. Instead he ends up eye to eye with the most sour Kenma he's ever seen.

"...Good morning?" He tries.

"Get out."

 

 

Oikawa takes a quick shower, then Kenma drags himself to take one too.

"You were right." Iwaizumi says earnestly once Kenma is gone and the door is closed again. "Your roommate is really pretty." His cheeks are lightly dusted pink. He looks adorable. Oikawa feels a little jealous, but also fully understanding.

"Right?"

Iwaizumi gets ready for his own shower and Oikawa struggles with his wardrobe again. He won't have the luxury to try a bunch of things on this time, Iwaizumi typically takes really short showers. Still, he can't just wear what he wore yesterday either. Oikawa panics. Iwaizumi leaves. Kenma comes back a few minutes later, hair dripping wet patches onto their shirt shoulders. Oikawa waits for them to set down their toiletries and take out their hair dryer but he's vibrating inside. Finally he bleats out.

"Kenmaaaa, please help me againnn~" He puts on his best puppy eyes and makes a show of rummaging through his closet in vain.

"No."

"Please?" Kenma sighs and sits at their desk, picking up their phone and ignoring their hairdryer and Oikawa entirely.

"...No." Kenma finally says. They barely looks at him over their phone. "Figure it out yourself."

Oikawa sighs. He deserves this.

He figures black is probably his best bet. He finds his most stretchy jeans. They're still godawful tight and they give him a muffin top but at least they button okay. He wants something baggy to hide in but everything is in the wash. Even the pyjama shirt he's wearing right now is tight. He reluctantly peals it off and throws it in his hamper.

That's when Iwaizumi decides to walk back in.

Oikawa freezes. His blood runs cold. He feels as if he's completely naked or worse. Every roll is exposed, his hips, belly, and even his ass spill out from his pants. He really is like a muffin. A pale, fat muffin. Iwaizumi freezes too, but Oikawa can tell he's trying to be nonchalant. He busies himself with his sport bag and Oikawa picks the first black shirt he sees, a slinky unisex cut t-shirt with a little lime green alien head on one side. He yanks it off the hanger so hard that the metal wire clatters to the floor, and he pulls it on his head so roughly that he actually has to fix his hair after.

At some point in all of this, Kenma got dressed and threw their hair in a messy wet bun, curtains of waterlogged hair shielding most of their face from the outside world.

"Let's go."

 

 

They head to meal hall together.

Oikawa is surprised Kenma wants anything to do with them at all, but they walk alongside them silently. Sometimes Oikawa catches them looking at Iwaizumi like they're looking at a puzzle, but most of the time they're on their phone. Iwaizumi chats about soccer and Oikawa lets himself listen and drift into the sound of his voice. About twenty feet away from the cafeteria a familiar voice calls Kenma away.

"See you later," They say in their general direction before making a beeline for Akaashi.

"Kenma's boyfriend," Oikawa explains simply. Iwaizumi nods. Oikawa checks his face to see if he looks disappointed. He doesn't find anything.

 

 

Eating in front of Iwaizumi is still hard. It's even harder in his natural environment, in a place where he's used to thinking of food and not much else. Habits are hard to break. He just wants to hide for a day, is that too much to ask? Every item is a battle. He ends up with less than half of what he would usually eat on his plate. His stomach gurgles. Did they eat anything yesterday night? Oikawa tries not to look at what Iwaizumi is getting. Eggs, meats, a bit of everything and a hearty portion of rice. He's an athlete it's only normal. Oikawa looks down on himself. He wishes he had liked playing soccer at least half as much as Iwaizumi. Then maybe he could feel justified in typically eating twice as much as him.

Iwaizumi picks a spot and they sit in a much more crowded area than usual. Maybe it's because of that that Oikawa doesn't notice Kenma walking by until his roommate has plopped a big fluffy pancake on his plate. Kenma doesn't say anything and even Akaashi gives them a funny look before shrugging and following his partner.

Oikawa blinks at the pancake. It's soaked in butter and looks like it has absorbed a hefty amount of syrup already. It smells amazing. His mouth waters. He can't look at Iwaizumi directly, but he eats it heartily.

 

 

They take the subway to a more typically urban part of Tokyo and go exploring. They go to an aquarium, and a mall, and they get crepes. It feels like a date. It feels nothing like a date. At some point they end up in a fast food restaurant and wind up chatting at a table for hours. Oikawa didn't think they'd have so much to say to each other. They talk online pretty regularly. It feels good to be reminded that they never used to run out of things to say even when they saw each other almost all day every day. They talk about movies they want to see, classes they're looking forward to next semester, aliens, and friends they've made. Oikawa talks a lot about Kuroo.

"Maybe he is an alien afterall..." He muses, popping a fry in his mouth.

Iwaizumi looks thoughtful. After a moment he finally says.

"Are you interested in him?" Iwaizumi asks plainly, taking a big gulp of soda from his open cup. Oikawa snorts.

"No," He laughs. "In another life, maybe," He grins. Iwaizumi didn't feel ill at ease before, but he seems to relax even more after that. They walk around Tokyo. Iwaizumi looks like a child in a candy store. Oikawa tries to focus on that and not how hot and sweaty he feels in his skin tight black clothes in the middle of June.

 

 

Oikawa keeps expecting the other shoe to drop. Nothing bad happens the whole day.

 

 

At around five, they go back to the room and Iwaizumi picks up his sport bag. They walk to the train in silence. Oikawa wants to say things like "thank you for coming" and "I'm so glad I got so see you" but everything sounds too extreme for two friends to say to each other, even two really close childhood best friends. He feels funny inside, like happiness and dread descended upon his mind and staged an invasion, using an ovipositor to drop a bunch of warrior babies in there. Oikawa walks Iwaizumi as far as he can without buying a ticket.

"Is something wrong?" Iwaizumi's words cut through a silence Oikawa hadn't even noticed.

"I don't know, is there?" He blurts out. He regrets it as soon as he sees Iwaizumi's face. His friend looks hurt. Oikawa wants to say something else, but the expression disappears as fast as it came.

"No, everything's fine." Iwaizumi stares at him like he grew an extra head.

"Well, good." Oikawa feels useless. Everything feels strange. He doesn't know what to do.

Iwaizumi gently drops his bag on the floor. He steps forward. He slowly reaches a hand out to him and lightly squeezes Oikawa's fleshy hip, right above his tight jeans. Oikawa feels his whole body flush. His ears feel hot. They hug goodbye and Iwaizumi holds him tightly.

Oikawa feels like he's seen right through him.

 

 

[KUROO(=‐ω‐=)] WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOUR BEST FRIEND WAS HERE AND I MISSED IT???? (ノಠ益ಠ)ノ彡┻━┻

[☆TOORU☆] ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Week: Oikawa receives An Education.


	5. The Hubble Space Telescope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Class might be cancelled but Oikawa is about to get An Education.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaa I want to apologize for missing a week of updates, especially when it was supposed to be a double update, but there's nothing I could do. For those of you who have read the Haikyuu!! fic Borrowed In Advance by hibiscusandmistletoe uhhhh that's me, I wrote that, I'm Kenma, and that's been my life more or less. Things happened, I had to move out, anyway. I'm here now! Single update this week and double update next week, provided my life doesn't implode again lol
> 
> It was going to be that way anyway, but this update is really kinky so I hope that kind of makes up for it!

 

 

Sweat rolls down his back and melted ice cream leaks down his fingers. It’s mid July. The irises have bloomed and Oikawa has summer classes. He hates everything. He hates the sun beating on his head, he hates how hard it is to breathe when the air is that thick, and he can’t stand the way his soaked clothes stick to his skin, dipping between every roll and getting caught in every crevice he has. He’s huffy and puffy and sweaty and he feels huge, never mind that he bought these new clothes last week. He can’t even enjoy how the deserted streets around him look just like the beginning of a mid-day alien invasion. He also doesn’t take any pleasure in having a class cancelled at the last minute. The free time is nice, sure, but now he has to walk all the way back to his dorm in this mess. He’d honestly rather be doing calculus in an air conditioned room. He deserves this ice cream even if it is melting faster than he can eat it. He’s only a little bit ashamed to have to lick his own hand like that in public. At least there’s no one to see him.

 

 

The dorms are quiet. Air conditioning didn’t come with the room but Kenma brought their own and Oikawa is endlessly thankful. It feels like it’s taking forever to reach this sweet release, the promise land. The short walk between campus buildings felt like a thousand kilometers and now this hallway stretches the length of twelve soccer fields with no Iwa-chan in sight.

He’s at the door with his keys out when he hears it.

It’s a groan? And a low whine followed by an incoherent jumble of words.

Oikawa curses the paper thin walls. It feels wrong to walk in when he knows what’s going on. At least if it was a real accident he could probably interrupt them, act all apologetic and then muscle his way into staying in the room. Instead the cool breeze slipping from the crack at the bottom of the door mocks him.

“Akaashi… I can’t…”

Oikawa doesn’t want to hear, really, but just like that night months ago he can’t stop himself.

“C’mon, I know you can do it.”

Oikawa holds his breath. He doesn’t know what he’s waiting for but it doesn’t come. Neither of them make a sound. Then, Kenma moans softly.

“You’re doing so well,” Akaashi’s voice sounds like velvet even through the door.Kenma starts to reply and then gets cut off with a short choking sound and a little sound of surprise. “Still good?” Akaashi asks and Oikawa can’t hear the answer. There’s some heavy breathing.

“More please.”

 Oikawa hears sounds of objects moving but he can’t make out what they could be. There’s a metal sound and a scrapping sound and a wet sound. Oikawa had sex with a girl once. Twice.Maybe more. She loved him. He liked her. He broke her heart, in the end. They never did anything that sounded like scrapping. 

“Think you can finish it?”

“Y-yeah…”

More scrapping. Another moan.

“Kenma, you’ve been so good for me.” Oikawa swallows. He is not getting aroused.“So willing, so pliant.” Not one bit. A small series of sounds follow like a softer version of opening a shampoo bottle. Kenma whines. Oikawa squirms, blushing scarlet. “Such a good piggy.”

Oikawa jolts.

A what? A pig?A piggy?His heart beats fast and his breathing is short. Why would Akaashi say something degrading like that? Sure Kenma is curvy but that’s nothing to be derogatory about. They’re soft, that’s all. And they’re so hot, how could Akaashi date them, do lewd sounding things with them, and not see that? Is he blind? Is he a complete asshole and Oikawa just missed it? Where does he even get off saying something like that, has he seen himself?

“…Thank you…”

Oikawa blinks. He walks away from the door. He doesn’t know what to do with himself. They seem to be about done. Maybe he can wait until Akaashi is about to leave and make it sound like he just got here? What are they even doing in there? What is he not quite walking in on right now? Is it really sex? Is that what people call BDSM? Oikawa thought he would have heard more slapping or some flogging, maybe some chains. Why would Akaashi say something like that? Why would Kenma let him? Why would they thank him for it?

Oikawa leans against the wall. It barely feels cool against his back. He’s so lost in thought he doesn’t notice the sound it makes when he lets his head fall heavy against the cheaply made wall. The wall of his room to be more specific.He stares at the ceiling, trying to grasp at his thoughts. His mind whirls in time with the whirl of plastic and metal fans in various rooms around him.

That’s why when the door opens next to him, Oikawa jumps out of his skin.

 

 

“Oikawa-kun?” Akaashi’s voice calmly calls to him.

“A-akaashi-sempai, hello,” His voice cracks despite him. Akaashi laughs.

“Just Akaashi is fine. Or one of your nicknames is fine too,” Akaashi smiles. He’s trying to put him at ease. Akaashi hates nicknames, at least that’s what Kenma told him. Akaashi knows. Oikawa feels queasy. He nods.

“Come in?”

Oikawa follows Akaashi into his own room. His side of the room is untouched. It feels safer to look there first. On their side Kenma looks like a mess. They’re not hiding in their covers which is what Oikawa was expecting. Instead they’re sitting half-sprawled on their comforter, still wearing clothes. Their hair is a mess, frizzy from the humidity and… other things. Their shirt is pushed up and their pants are unbuttoned, showing off the sprawl of their doughy belly. Oikawa doesn’t think he’s ever gotten such a straightforward view of it before. It’s bigger than he thought. It’s pale and smooth looking. The bottom of it looks like it could melt in his mouth, which is a weird thought to think. The sides of it stretch into plump rolls. The top of it looks taught and tight and unnaturally round. Kenma catches him looking.

They look full. They look stuffed.

“Wanna talk?” Kenma asks, almost amused.

Honestly Oikawa would rather die right now. Instead, he nods.

 

 

“So,” Akaashi starts.

“So,” Kenma starts.

“Mutual gaining,” Kenma says at the same time as Akaashi says “Feederism.” They look at each other. “Both.” They conclude. Akaashi has made himself comfortable on Kenma's bed, sitting cross-legged in the middle while Kenma is curled at the foot of it, stomach still out. They’re close, but not touching. Oikawa is on his own bed, hanging on the edge of it, stiff as a board. He blinks at the words he doesn’t understand.

“Feederism first, maybe?” Akaashi asks and Kenma nods. He turns to Oikawa. “It’s basically feeding yourself or someone else with the intention of getting them or yourself fat or fatter.” Akaashi gently lays a hand on Kenma's soft tum. “Intentional weight gain, basically.”

“It’s a kink, or a fetish.” Kenma adds.

“And it can be done in a relationship or alone, or even with friends.” Akaashi smiles knowingly at Kenma but Kenma frowns and bats his hand away.

“That’s not what happened.” They mutter. 

“Anyway,” Akaashi continues. “Mutual gaining is when two or more people choose to gain together.” Akaashi pats his own stomach. “Kenma and I switch between who gets fed and who does the feeding.”

“So we both end up fat.” Kenma blows air into their cheeks when they say fat and it’s an honestly adorable expression that makes his round face impossibly rounder.

“Exactly.” They stop talking for a bit even though there is so much more to say and so much more to know. Oikawa is grateful for the chance to absorb information. Still, he has to know.

“How did you know I was out there?”

“I didn’t.” Kenma admits.

“I heard you take your keys out, and pace around, and breathe, and finally your head hit the wall and I knew I had to put you out of your misery.” Akaashi smirks. Kenma turns to him, scowling like a scorned kitten.

“Is that why you looked so distracted at the end?”

“I wasn’t.”

“You were.”

“I wasn’t.”

“…You were.”

“I wasn’t.”

Oikawa watches them silently and can’t help but smile. If anything, it makes sense. Kenma's weight gain, Akaashi’s weight gain, Kenma's disregard for the calorie content of his many snacks. Speaking of food…

Oikawa’s stomach grumbles loud enough for everyone in the room to hear.

Kenma and Akaashi stop play arguing. Akaashi smirks again. He turns to Kenma with a question on his face. Kenma blows air in his face but it only makes Akaashi laugh. Finally they nod their head down toward one of the drawers under their bed. Akaashi opens it, peruses the contents for a moment, and then throws a box at Oikawa. Oikawa catches it.

“Eat some,” Akaashi says simply. Kenma nods.

Oikawa nods slowly and looks down at the box. It’s a fairly large box of little crème stuffed cookies. He opens it and opens the foil inside, then he takes a cookie out and pops it in his mouth. It’s delicious. It tastes like one of Makki’s crème puff but with a crunchy graham shell instead. He eats another, and another. Finally he looks back at Kenma and Akaashi. Akaashi is playfully shoving Kenma who is trying not to wince and not to blush at the same time. Oikawa tilts his head.

“Stop!” Kenma tries to shuffle away but there’s no more bed left to put space in between them. “I’ll leave the bed!”

“Can you stand?”

“Probably not!”

Oikawa clears his throat.

Kenma loses the fight and blushes hard.

“It’s just…” Kenma looks frustrated. “Akaashi and Kuroo and everyone seems to think I’ve been secretly feeding you and trying to fatten you up without telling you.” They mumble it all fast but Oikawa understands every word. He blushes too. “But I haven’t! I haven’t done anything like that!” They say it at Akaashi to convince him, but Oikawa knows they’re trying to convince him too. He believes them. Oikawa never thought there was anything untoward going on, and adding a kink to the mix doesn’t change that. He could have said no at any point, but he wanted to eat, and he wanted to taste Kenma's snacks, and he would have gotten this chubby on his own anyway. He thinks all of this and then he says it out loud.

Kenma looks relieved. Akaashi looks unsurprised. Kuroo will probably know within the hour. Calm has been restored.

“So what else is there to this?” He asks, eating another cookie. Kenma's eyes light up.

“Well earlier we were stuffing,” Kenma pats their belly and instantly regrets it. He gives it soothing rubs instead. 

“Like a turkey?” Kenma and Akaashi both snort.

“Kind of…” Kenma looks down at their bulging midsection. Akaashi adds a hand to Kenma's massaging efforts. It's probably too intimate for Oikawa to watch, but he's drawn in. Kenma's belly is mesmerizing. 

“I spoon fed Kenma a whole pint of ice cream after we came back from meal hall.” Akaashi looks proud. Kenma too.

“Yeah and later if you had still been in class we would have probably weighed me and taken some measurements.” Kenma says it like it’s matter of fact even when Oikawa can tell they’re getting kind of hot and bothered just thinking and talking about it. It could be weird but it isn’t. Instead, Oikawa is fascinated. He thinks about the metal sound that was probably a spoon and the scrapping sound that must have been digging the ice cream out. The wet sounds were probably eating...

Kenma and Akaashi take turns talking about different facets of their kink, what they like to do, what other people like, and what kind of arrangement they have together. Kenma briefly mentions tight clothes and Oikawa has a flashback to a few days ago when he was trying so desperately to fit into his old red skinny jeans and Kenma inexplicably left the room to take an early shower. They both blush again.

“So earlier...” Oikawa has to will himself to say it. “...When you called Kenma piggy...”

“It's because I did a good job,” Kenma looks to Akaashi for extra aprouval.  

“You did.” Akaashi confirms.

“So you don't mind it then...?”

“I like it.” Kenma clarifies. “Not everyone does, but I do, and it's definitely something Keiji and I talked about beforehand.”

Oikawa nods and his chest feels lighter. He finishes the cookies without really noticing, but for once he doesn't feel guilty at the end.

 

 

“We’re not trying to convert you or anything,” Akaashi says later after Oikawa has gone through most of his questions. “But it would probably be easier for you if you didn’t dislike the way you look now.”

Kenma nods in agreement. Oikawa looks down at his body. His thighs are wide and spread out on the bed. His stomach covers his belt entirely. His arms look a bit bigger than they were before and his hands look pudgy. It would be easier if he could stop beating himself up. It’s not making him eat less anyway,it’s just kind of making him sad. He didn’t come to university to get sad, he came to make friends and find aliens.

“How?”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next week: finally some sport in this space sport au lol


	6. Orbiter Vehicle Designation: OV-103

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oikawa gets the instruction manual just in time for his first spacewalk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter and the next were last minute additions to the plot because I completely forgot that I said earlier in this fic that Tanabata was going to be a thing lol Not to say that double chapter week is a week for fillers! These will be plot relevant! Just a bit harder to write because they weren't planned lol With that in mind, please don't start an uprising if chapter 7 comes out Friday or during the weekend, I'm trying my best and I love you!! D: 
> 
> (also bc of this, this week is not the week that the space sport au gets sports, sorry!!)

 

 

_“We’re not trying to convert you or anything,” Akaashi says. “But it would probably be easier for you if you didn’t dislike the way you look now.”_

_Oikawa looks down at his body. It would be easier if he could stop beating himself up. He didn’t come to university to get sad, he came to make friends and find aliens._

_“How?”_

 

 

"I uh... don't actually remember." Akaashi  looks down. Kenma punches him lightly in the gut.

"It wasn't that long ago," They remind him.

"It feels like forever, though." Kenma snorts but they both smile.

"Yeah, well, that's not really helpful now, is it?" Kenma teases. They wobble Akaashi's belly. Oikawa blushes. Akaashi too.

"Well, do you remember?" Akaashi makes no move to bat their hand away.

"Of course." Kenma nods confidently.

"Did you even have to do any work? You were already a fully formed kinky fiend when we met." Akaashi teases.

"Hmm..." Kenma seems far away for a moment. "It took some time to get there."

Oikawa feels like he's getting initiated into a secret society.  An underground society separate from the mainstream where he could actually like his body, as it is now, and other people's too. It feels silly and so very necessary. Kenma pulls out a notebook and rips the last page out. It's blank. He hands it to Oikawa.

"Tooru, take notes."

Totally a secret society.

"Okay, so number one is surround yourself with positive role models." Oikawa pens that down quickly. "I mean obviously you have us," Akaashi snorts at that. "But like. Who's your celebrity crush?"

"Daoko." Oikawa blurts out without hesitation.

"Have you ever heard of Watanabe Naomi?" Akaashi leans in.

"Vaguely, I think?"

"Look her up." The raven says sternly. Oikawa quickly pens her name down.

"She's Akaashi's favourite," Kenma playfully rolls their eyes at their boyfriend. "You can look for Ando Ui too, and La Farfa magazine. A lot of what you're going to find is going to be for girls, up to you to see if it still fits for you. You can also look at western stuff. Is your English any good?" Oikawa nods. Kenma motions for him to hand them the piece of paper. They jot down a few websites. Oikawa takes his notes back.

"Is that it?" Honestly, it seems a little simplistic so far.

"No," Akaashi says. "That's just a small part of it. But it helps if you stop comparing yourself to other people."

"Like Hajime." Kenma looks straight at Oikawa. Oikawa blushes up to his hair root. "Don't think I didn't notice. It's not good for you." Oikawa nods. He doesn't know how to say that it's not that simple, that there's a lot there with his best friend being such a good person and an athlete too, their dynamic is hard sometimes. "Get over it." Kenma says like they can read his mind.

"What else?"  He asks to stop himself from getting defensive.

"Look at yourself."

"Compassionately." Akaashi adds. "Look at the things you like."

"Stop getting surprised by yourself."

"Keep track of yourself but don't do it critically. Be kind to yourself."

"Accept that you're changing. Go with it."

"That might be hard to do, but trust that your body knows what's right for you."

Kenma is about to launch into another point, but Akaashi stops them. Oikawa glances up thankfully and manages to catch up on his notes. He sets his pen down and Kenma starts again, still just as serious and intense as before.

"Touch yourself. Admire how soft you are. Love yourself. Call yourself "cute" and "handsome" and "pretty" in your head and out loud until you believe it. Walk around naked," Akaashi coughs. "-When I'm not here." Oikawa laughs. He writes it down anyway.

"It might not be as easy for you if you're not naturally attracted to fat-" Akaashi starts.

"He is." Kenma cuts him off. Oikawa blinks. Kenma lifts their gaze. "Don't think I don't know." They say again and Oikawa swallows because not even Iwa-chan catches so much of his weird private thoughts in one day and they've known each other for over a decade. Oikawa swallows again.

"Please don't pass out, Tooru-kun." Akaashi's voice is gentle but Oikawa can barely hear it. All he can think of is that he was noticed noticing that night or another night or any other day. Did he make them uncomfortable? How did he give himself away? Is that why they're doing all of this for him, do they just want him to leave them alone? He needs Kenma to elaborate now before he loses his mind.

"Just the way you look at me." They elaborate. "And Akaashi." They nod their head toward their boyfriend. It doesn't make it any better. "The way you were fidgeting when we were talking earlier." he was trying so hard to stay still. They pause, trying to read his panic and figure out how to tame it. "Nothing incriminating." They try to reassure him. "Just the same lingering looks I'd give you or anyone else that looks nice. It doesn't mean anything." Tooru tries to relax but he can't. Kenma leans in, and brushes the top of his hand with their fingers. "It's okay." They say, and their golden eyes shine like they're trying to prove it. "It's normal, it's fine, it's a good thing, okay?" Oikawa tries to nod but he can't. "Okay?" They ask again, softly.

"Okay."

 

 

They watch a movie after. There are a few more things on Oikawa's new to-do list like buying clothes that fit and giving away everything that's too small so he doesn't have to fight with his closet all the time. They eat snacks and watch an old comedy with aliens in it and Kenma falls asleep on Akaashi halfway through. Oikawa stays awake but it's hard not to lean on the tall boy too. He's softer and more caring than Oikawa originally thought he could be. After all the talk of appreciating bodies, it's hard for Oikawa to not imagine himself getting a crush on every soft boy and enby he meets. He imagines after he looks at some of the things Kenma recommended he'll have the same trouble with girls too. After the movie ends, Oikawa returns to his own bed. Akaashi ends up staying the night, squished up between Kenma and the wall on the small single bed.

"Goodnight, Tooru," The raven calls over his partner's head, a hand tangled in their hair already.

"Goodnight 'Kaashi-kun."

 

 

[M(✧Д✧)KKI] (✧Д✧)  
[M(✧Д✧)KKI] O.K.  
[M(✧Д✧)KKI] Tooru.

[MATTSUN|ω・)] you owe us.

[M(✧Д✧)KKI] Big Time.  
[M(✧Д✧)KKI] It's Time.

[MATTSUN|ω・)] Show us the roommate.  
[MATTSUN|ω・)] The hot roommate.

[M(✧Д✧)KKI] Show us the hot roommate. My rival. The roommate so hot that Iwaizumi don't-talk-to-me-unless-it's-tooru Hajime mentioned them like six times during our skype call last week.

[☆TOORU☆] ...  
[☆TOORU☆] ☆TOORU☆SENT A PHOTO

[M(✧Д✧)KKI] (╯°□°）╯︵┻━┻

[MATTSUN|ω・)]  (┛◉Д◉)┛彡┻━┻

[☆TOORU☆] yru flippin tables now guys?&!?!

[M(✧Д✧)KKI] WHAT ELSE COULD THERE BE  
[M(✧Д✧)KKI] HOT ROOMMATE IS HOT AS FUCKKK  
[M(✧Д✧)KKI] GIVE THEM MY CROWN JESUS

[MATTSUN|ω・)]   MORE LIKE GIVE THEM MY NUMBER

[☆TOORU☆] not a chance  
[☆TOORU☆] also they're taken  
[☆TOORU☆] ☆TOORU☆SENT A PHOTO

[M(✧Д✧)KKI]  ˚‧º·(˚ ˃̣̣̥⌓˂̣̣̥ )‧º·˚

[MATTSUN|ω・)]  （┬┬＿┬┬）  
[MATTSUN|ω・)]  damnit  
[MATTSUN|ω・)]  there's two of 'em

[M(✧Д✧)KKI].....mattsun..........  
[M(✧Д✧)KKI].........theres...........two of 'em............ (´⊙◞⊱◟⊙｀)

[MATTSUN|ω・)]  |ω・)..........two of 'em??? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

[☆TOORU☆] guys plz stop ( ´థ,_‥థ｀)

[M(✧Д✧)KKI] one for each? (´◉◞౪◟◉)

[MATTSUN|ω・)]  one for each? (´≖◞౪◟≖｀)

[M(✧Д✧)KKI] ONE FOR EACH  
[M(✧Д✧)KKI] Huff(:.;ﾟ;Д;ﾟ;.:)Huff

[☆TOORU☆] ...ffs....

 

 

It's the day before Tanabata.

Oikawa is on the train to Sendai. He has headphones on and a backpack with just the essentials. He won't be able to stay more than a few days what with his summer classes, but he's looking forward to seeing Iwa-chan again and finally getting to see Makki and Mattsun. The seat's handles are lightly brushing his hips but Oikawa distracts himself by browsing bigger clothes online while listening to a podcast that a classmate sent him on asteroid samples. Kuroo is sitting across from him, narrow hips several inches away from the armrests on either side. But whatever. Asteroids. Cool clothes. Kuroo making weird faces at him when he thinks he's not looking. Narrow hips be damned.

[KUROO(=‐ω‐=)] watchu thinking??

[☆TOORU☆] nm  
[☆TOORU☆] asteroids, you?

[KUROO(=‐ω‐=)] nm either  
[KUROO(=‐ω‐=)] ...  
[KUROO(=‐ω‐=)] r ur friends hot?

[☆TOORU☆] y r u like this?

[KUROO(=‐ω‐=)] sad  
[KUROO(=‐ω‐=)] alone  
[KUROO(=‐ω‐=)] lonely  
[KUROO(=‐ω‐=)] failed one of my midterms even tho im a genius  
[KUROO(=‐ω‐=)] looking for love  
[KUROO(=‐ω‐=)] yknow  
[KUROO(=‐ω‐=)] all the reasons u invited me n all

[☆TOORU☆] fine  
[☆TOORU☆] ☆TOORU☆SENT A PHOTO

[KUROO(=‐ω‐=)] ﾟ.+:｡(〃ω〃)ﾟ.+:｡ ｷｬｧ♪  
[KUROO(=‐ω‐=)] ...dayum  ･:*:･(*/////∇/////*)･:*:･

Iwaizumi meets them at the station. It's still a surprise although he did kind of give himself away when he asked for Oikawa's itinerary and train number. Oikawa has a flash of panic getting out of his seat when his belt loop gets stuck on the seatbelt he didn't wear. How long ago did they see each other? A month, probably? And how much weight did he put on, five pounds, ten pounds?? Does it show? He breathes. He tries to hear Kenma and Akaashi and Naomi Watanabe in his head. Kuroo is waiting. Iwaizumi is looking at the train doors, expecting him no matter what he looks like. He's Oikawa Tooru, a tall, not so lanky not quite genius studying to be an astronaut or something. He can do this.

"Yah-o!" He waves at his best friend.

"Hey," He smiles warmly. "Hey," He nods at Kuroo too. "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too, thank you for having me around for a few days," Kuroo smiles and it's scary as always but Iwaizumi seems to like it fine. Clearly he's been hardened by these new teammates of his.

 Oikawa and Iwaizumi chat while Kuroo walks a few paces behind them taking a bunch of pictures and asking to stop at the sasa kamaboko place near the station. They have a few. Oikawa opts for the cheese one, Iwaizumi a smoked one, and Kuroo one of each including one with grilled beef tongue.

"Two foods in one shot!" He grins while taking a selfie with his mouth full, probably to torture Kenma.  

"I like his spirit," Iwaizumi comments. He turns to Kuroo. "Have you ever considered playing soccer?"

"Me?" Kuroo points to himself with his chopsticks. "Nah, I was more of a volleyball man!" He gets this mature look on his face that Oikawa recognizes from Iwaizumi. Probably reliving his high school career. Iwaizumi nods.

"Nice," He says.

They make their way through the center of town, looking at a few shops before finally taking the bus to Iwaizumi's house.

"Your mom told me to take you here for a bit while she's out grocery shopping." Iwaizumi explains when he turns Oikawa away from his own house across the street.

"Oh," Oikawa smiles. "It'll be nice to see your family," He means it. He really has missed the Iwaizumi household these past months, sometimes more than his own.

He places his shoes in his usual spot and Kuroo finds a nook for his own. They hang their bags on hooks and make their way to the kitchen.

"Hey mom, Tooru is home." A petite woman with long graying black hair turns to greet them. Her eyes widen a bit as she takes in his frame, but Oikawa tries not to notice. Kuroo also notices, unbenownst to Oikawa at first, and charms her pants off. She's so overwhelmed by the "tall smart man" Iwaizumi has brought her that doesn't get the chance to make any of the surely caring but most definitely hurtful comments Oikawa could tell were coming.

"Thanks," Oikawa whispers when they're out of her line of sight.

"No problem," Kuroo shrugs. "I had to do it a bunch for Kenma so it kind of comes naturally." Oikawa hums. "Adults can be kind of shitty that way." Kuroo laughs humourlessly.

Oikawa hopes nothing like that actually happens while they're here.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Week: It's Makki and Mattsun time!! ＼(((￣(￣(￣▽￣)￣)￣)))／ﾔｯﾀｰ!


	7. Vega of Lyra and Altair of Aquila

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tanabata might celebrate the one night a year that the lovelorn stars of Orihime and Hikoboshi meet but will any of these human meetings lead to love?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The clear lesson here is that I am never to promise a double chapter week again lol It seems to be cursed?? At least this is the longest chapter in the story so far (So maybe not that cursed? Hopefully??)
> 
> tw for some well meaning "concern" toward the very end, but spoiler alert Oikawa deals with his stupendously

 

 

 

Tanabata is the festival of stars so of course it's been Oikawa's favourite since he was a kid. In most places it takes place in early July but in Sendai it's actually at the beginning of August. It's a star festival but it's also a celebration of love. The story is that Orihime, the star Vega in the constellation of Lyra, was a talented silk weaver. Meanwhile Hikoboshi, the star Altair in the constellation of Aquila, was a hard working cow herder. They fell in love which was fine despite Orihime being the Emperor of Heaven's daughter but then the two became so wrapped up in their love that they neglected their celestial duties. Silk went un-weaved. Cows went un-herded. It was chaos. The emperor was so cross with his daughter and her lover that he banished them to opposite ends of the Milky Way. For only one night of the year, the stars align and they get to meet again. It would be the perfect story if only there were aliens. Then again, stars aren't from Earth so. Technically aliens.

It's a beautiful time of year.

It's humid as hell, but the streets of Sendai are overtaken with large paper ornaments. Paper wishes hang from bamboo, but also from several of people's bushes in the front yards of his neighborhood. Not everyone will be travelling to Kotodai Park to mingle with the two million tourists singing songs and eating somen noodles. Of course that's where he's going to take Kuroo with Iwaizumi to meet Makki and Mattsun, and of course they're going to wear their more traditional summer clothes to do it.

"What are you worried about?" Kuroo sighs and spreads his lanky body on Oikawa's unmade bed, already dressed in his long black yukata. He looks more like the pesky demon Oikawa is starting to think he is.

"What do you think?" The brunette glares at him over his shoulder.

"It's Japanese design, there's way more fabric than you could ever need-" Oikawa coughs. "-Have needed." Kuroo doesn't miss a beat. "You'll be fine." Oikawa rolls his eyes. Kuroo rolls his right back.

Oikawa's own yukata is a little shorter, showing off a good portion of his ankles. It's made from Kasuri fabric and weaves a simple white pattern on the classic indigo background. Oikawa has owned it for a long time but the garment hasn't faded at all. It's one of his prized possessions. It's frightening to think it might not fit him anymore.

"Just put it on," Kuroo calls from the bed. "Trust me."

He does, in a weird way. Not like he trusts Iwaizumi or Kenma. But he does. He holds his breath even if that would technically make his problem worse, should there be one.

It fits.

It fits fine. It looks great, actually. Sure, it doesn't fit quite like before but Kuroo was right. There's enough fabric to make it around his rounder body and just enough left after that to close the yukata neatly. He had nothing to worry about. Well. He still has things to worry about but at least it won't be so obvious when he sees them...

"Don't worry about anything else, either!" Kuroo is an observant menace.

"I'm not!" Oikawa lies.

"You are."

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Am not."

"Spit it out."

"No."

"So there is something!"

"Stop it!" Oikawa whines without much conviction.

"Nah," Kuroo grins. He pats down a spot next to himself. "Sit here and tell papa Kuroo what's wrong."

"Ew." Oikawa sits anyway. "Why are you like this?"

"I haven't been able to trick Kenma like that in years," He grins like the Cheshire cat. "So you have to let me bask a little." He nods sagely like it's an obvious thing to do. Oikawa blows a puff of air in his face. "Hey!" Oikawa looks away, trying to pretend he didn't just obviously do that.

"I just..." He finally starts when he's ready. "I just don't want them to hate me, that's all."

"Why would they ever do that?"

"I don't know..." Oikawa looks at his knees. His hands curl in the starchy fabric. He should have probably washed his yukata yesterday, he hasn't worn it in almost a year after all. "Everybody seems to hate fat people, why would they be different? Did you hear Iwa-chan's mom yesterday? You did your best but she couldn't help herself. She called me a metabo."

"She thinks if she's blunt enough she'll cure you of your "disease" or whatever." Kuroo agrees. "But pink guy and eyebrow guy aren't moms, they have no reason to think like that. You're just their friend who got kinda pudgy over the semester. You're in university. It happens."

"Yeah..." Oikawa pokes his tummy doubtfully. He calls it cute in his head, then calls himself cute too. It does kind of help.

"Do you like it?"

"Hmm?" Oikawa turns his head to look at Kuroo a little too fast, kind of startled by his friend's question.

"Getting fat, being fat. Are you doing it on purpose now too?" Kuroo's face is perfectly neutral. They're pretty invasive questions even for a friend to ask. He must realize this because he quickly clarifies. "I don't mind either way! Or if it's Kenma's influence or not, or anything like that," He waves his hands in front of himself and he is kind of cute too when he's all flustered like that. "I'm just curious, honest!"

Oikawa thinks about it.

"I don't know yet." He finally says. "I'm not sure what I'm doing." The top part of his belly is squashed down by his obi but the bottom plops on his lap like a little kitten. He grabs the soft roll with both hands. "I don't hate it." He admits. "I just need to be less afraid of it. Then we'll see." He looks at Kuroo, belly still in hand. Kuroo looks proud.

"That's a good start," He smiles. He sits up and claps Oikawa on the back before standing up. "Alright then, let's go!"

 

 

 

It's seven in the morning when Iwaizumi shows up at the door in his navy blue striped jinbei and geta sandles. Oikawa ribs him for wearing them just so he can look less short standing next to him and Kuroo. Iwaizumi kicks him. Despite being rather lively, they take a bus and commute in silence. It's seven thirty when the three of them get to Central Sendai proper. They're not even near the park yet and the crowd is already getting thick. The little flyer Kuroo picked up from the train station yesterday says that decorations go up at ten in the morning, but already shops are putting out their colourful ornaments. They're supposed to meet Makki and Mattsun at eight under a specific tree next to the main stage. Kuroo yawns and Oikawa yawns with him. He's grateful it's not a cherry blossom viewing or a concert, he doesn't want to know at what time they would have had to get up if they had seats to save.

"Oh, hey!" Iwaizumi waves to a group of boys a few dozen feet away. "Over here!" Oikawa looks up expecting to see Makki and Mattsun's heads towering over the crowd, but instead he barely sees a bald head and enough space around him for a few short people. Girls, maybe? They finally make it close enough to pierce through the crowd. There's a bald guy of average height around their age, and two shorter guys. One looks maybe younger and the other one older. "Hey!" Iwaizumi greets them properly. "Decided to come out for the festival?"

"Yeah! You?" The younger looking one exclaims and asks all in one breath.

"Yeah," Iwaizumi gestures at Oikawa and Kuroo. "My uh, childhood best friend and his friend came over for it and everything. We're meeting some other guys from high school later too."

"Sweet!" He looks like electricity. His hair is black with a great big blond streak in it. He's short, and he looks at once overwhelmingly confident, wild, and like his energy would need a bigger body to be anywhere near comfortable.

"Kuroo?!" The older looking short guy steps forward. He looks a little angry and a little haunted.

"Yaku?" Kuroo sounds a little bemused, a little on guard, and very perplexed. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I go to school here, remember?"

"Clearly I don't." Kuroo half-jokes.

"Full of air as ever." Yaku shakes his head and Kuroo looks ready to fight, and also very much not that.

"Apparently Kyoutani's coming later." Bald Guy says to Iwaizumi.

"Huh, he doesn't seem like the type." Iwaizumi admits.

Oikawa places two and two together. Clearly these are some of Iwaizumi's teammates. Yaku is the name of the first year goalie Iwaizumi has been boasting. That means Tanaka must be the bald attacker and the human energy drink must be Nishinoya.

"Heh," Tanaka laughs. "Apparently his dogs like it." Iwaizumi grins.

"That seems more like him."

"Wait," Oikawa interjects. "Mad Dog has actual dogs?"

"Yeah!" Tanaka full on laughs while Nishinoya next to him snickers. "He has a whole pack of 'em!" Tanaka pretends to wipe away a tear, or maybe it's a real one. "I called him an alpha the other day but apparently that's his border collie Wendy so what do I know?" Iwaizumi laughs at that.

Next to them Kuroo and Yaku seem to have split off into their own conversation. They don't look at each other, preferring to people watch instead, but Oikawa can tell they're actually engaged in a pretty intense debate. Since it seems like they might be discussing something even remotely private, automatically his ears decide to tune in to what they're saying.

"You're so full of shit, look who you're with!"

"He's my friend!"

"Yeah, for now!"

"Shut up! You know what I like, it's not like we didn't fight about it every day for three years or anything!"

"You and your ridiculous standards." Yaku shakes his head. "You're never gonna find anyone, you know that?"

"Stop being my mom! I'm nineteen too you know!"

"Then why don't you act like it?"

"Why don't you act like it?"

"I am!" Yaku looks actually angry now. "Do I need to remind you which one of us has a boyfriend right now?"

Kuroo huffs.

"Don't remind me." He spits out. "Liev-sempai was enough trouble when I had to see him every day, I'd rather not have to think about him if I don't have to."

"You're such a baby."

"Well, if you like lanky bastards so much then why didn't you ever ask me out?" Kuroo asks so quietly Oikawa almost can't hear him. Yaku blinks.

"I did."

"What?!" Kuroo does a double take. "When?!" Yaku blushes. Oikawa can't tell if he's frustrated or if he's embarrassed for his past self.

"In first year. Our second conversation."

"That was you asking me out?" Kuroo looks incredulous.

"Yeah you jerk. You rejected me pretty coldly, too."

"I didn't know!"

"Well you should have! I gave up after that and clearly I made a pretty good choice since it turns out you're an idiot!"

They don't say anything for a long time after that. Oikawa joins in the other conversation in front of him, but he can't help but be concerned for his friend. After half an hour of standing and chatting, Kuroo and Yaku join them. They both look a little shaken, but by the time Iwaizumi's teammates have to leave to meet other people, Kuroo looks a little better.

"So, you know Yaku?" Iwaizumi asks him after they're gone.

"Yeah," Kuroo's voice sounds a little hoarse from the yelling. "We went to high school together."

Iwaizumi nods. He looks at his phone. Makki and Mattsun are late. It's almost nine.

"Should we go look around?"

"Might as well."

 

 

 

It's eleven when Oikawa and Iwaizumi's phone buzz at the same time. They're sitting with Kuroo at a little table they managed to snipe with speed, agility, and persistence. They lost their fourth chair a while ago, but that's another story. They look at each other. Iwaizumi silently decides to look at his for the both of them.

[M(✧Д✧)KKI] Oi.

[MATTSUN|ω・)] Look up.

Iwaizumi shows Oikawa and Kuroo his screen. They do.

Two heads float above the rest of the crowd, slowly making their way toward their table. There's a pink one and a brown one, just like Oikawa expected only... the pink one is wearing two pink buns and the brown one has a large headpiece on his head that makes him look like a lily pad with a big toad on it. They get close enough for their bodies to show through the people in front of them and it's clear that their heads aren't the only things that are different. Whatever Makki is wearing matches his hair almost too perfectly, and whatever Mattsun has on is purple and a weird length on him.

"Yo!" Makki waves.

"Yo." Mattsun also waves.

They're very clearly hungover.

"You're late." Iwaizumi all but growls at them.

"Sorry." Mattsun can't help but actually look apologetic in front of his old captain.

"Yeah, sorry." Makki is a little more cocky.

"Whatever, bring it in, guys." Iwaizumi stands up and crushes the both of them in a strong hug. He ruffles Mattsun's hair by the ornament, a big plastic chrysanthemum upon closer inspection. He pats Makki's head between the buns. They bounce on their hairclips.

"What happened, lost a bet?" Oikawa calls instead of hello.

"Heh," Makki laughs. "Yeah." He looks proud. With his hands on his hips like that Oikawa can more clearly see that he's not even wearing a yukata but an actual furisode. It’s lined with silk and clearly hand embroidered. It looks expensive, and also painfully warm.

"Couldn't keep it in our pants during a mixer." Mattsun rubs the back of his head. "Kaori-chan just made me wear her stuff but Yukie..."

"I had to rent this myself..." Makki grumbles. "Hey," He fake glares at Oikawa. "Aren't you gonna stand up and hug us yourself, Alien King?"

Oikawa’s not nervous.

Not at all.

He stands up, wordlessly, and walks over to Makki. He can feel his friend’s gaze on him but then the pretty boy smiles, widely. He opens his arms and Oikawa all but jumps into them. The hug tightly for several minutes.

“I missed you, Alien King.” Makki tries to sound noble. Oikawa laughs into his shoulder.

“I missed you too.”

Mattsun hovers over them and clears his throat loudly.

“I missed you too, where’s my hug?” He grouses. Oikawa untangles himself from Makki and gives him a big long hug too.

“Hey!” Oikawa yelps. “Stop groping me!” He tries to wiggle out of Mattsun’s embrace but the taller man has his fleshy hips tightly gripped in his giant hands.

“No,” Mattsun mumbles into his forehead. “You’re soft.” His thumbs rub little circles into the ,most pliant parts of him.

“That’s not a reason!” Oikawa squawks. Behind him, Iwaizumi laughs.

“It kind of is,” He says.

“Yeah,” Makki agrees. “You’re pretty irresistible.”

Oikawa glares over Mattsun’s shoulder only to make eye contact with Kuroo. The black demon gives him a thumbs up. Oikawa rolls his eyes, but then he smiles. He lets Mattsun have his platonic way with him for a minute and finds that once he’s relaxed he doesn’t quite hate it. Eventually he is released.

“Hey, Tooru?”

“Yeah?” Oikawa straightens out his yukata and smooths down his hair.

“Who’s the new guy?”

“Hello, I don’t think we’ve met,” Kuroo advances not unlike a cat. Or a snake. “I’m Kuroo Tetsurou, I go to Todai with Tooru-kun.” Oikawa wants to kick him. Makki and Mattsun circle him like a bonded pair of piranhas.

“Oh?” Mattsun grins.

“Ooh?” Makki grins harder.

Iwaizumi sighs. Oikawa falls back next to him to watch them. There’s no saving Kuroo now. He’s just their type. By the end of the day when the fireworks go off, Kuroo has unofficially become One of Them. Oikawa’s glad. Kuroo did say he was lonely before. Besides, it gives him more time sort-of alone with Iwaizumi. They wander around the local shops, eating street food and chatting while also trying to pretend they don’t know the three idiots they’re sort of kind of following. It works out.

“Thanks for coming.” Iwaizumi says halfway through the fireworks.

“Of course.” Oikawa doesn’t look away from the sky. He swallows. They almost had a kind of romantic day together, rowdy friends aside. Maybe this is going somewhere?

“I know it means a lot to those two, even though they kind of ditched us for the day.” Iwaizumi says instead.

“Yeah,” Oikawa agrees.

“They’re not the best at talking about their feelings.” Iwaizumi laughs. Oikawa can barely hear him now over the explosions in the sky. “Me neither.” He thinks he hears him say. He turns to his shorter friend, but Iwaizumi is looking straight ahead. He doesn’t say anything else. Oikawa’s heartbeat feels faster and louder than any of the bursts of light they’re looking at. He wants to ask, he wants to push.  

The last few fireworks go off after the finale.

Oikawa hasn’t said anything.

Iwaizumi either.

 

 

 

“Did you two have a good day?” Oikawa’s mom asks when they finally make it home. It’s almost midnight, but she’s in the kitchen doing the last bit of dishes. “I ran you two a bath upstairs if you want, guests first,” She smiles at Kuroo. He thanks her profusely and heads up. Oikawa is about to follow when she stops him “Tooru,” She calls out. “Do you mind talking to your aging mother for a minute?”

Oikawa stops. He’s pretty tired, but… she doesn’t pull the guilt card that often. He follows her back to the kitchen and starts drying some of the dishes while she continues washing. They must have had some people over because there’s more than usual.

“Tooru…” His mom isn’t usually hesitant about anything.

“Yes?”

“Is everything okay at university?”

“Yes, why?” Her question surprises him. “I sent you my report card—”

“Yes, it was very nice, but…” She cuts him off and he listens, a little troubled and a little anxious. “Are you happy? Are you stressed?” Oikawa thinks about it.

“No, not more than before.”

“That’s good.” She nods. “You know a lot of smart kids get really panicked when they get to university. It’s hard being away from home and all…” She drops her hands in the sudsy water. “It can be hard when your mom isn’t the one cooking for you anymore…”

Understanding dawns on him. He doesn’t know what to say.

He wishes Kuroo was here.

A drop of water falls from the dish he’s holding and lands on his bare foot.

“You’re very handsome, Tooru, you always have been.” Oikawa is getting quite uncomfortable. “You still are!” She clarifies but it doesn’t make him feel any better. “I just don’t understand… why?” She gestures at his belly with her chin. Oikawa feels like all the blood in his body is rushing toward his feet. He feels dizzy. He doesn’t know what to say. Why? Why is he getting fat anyway? Is it his metabolism slowing down? Is it his habits changing? The student lifestyle? His priorities? Does he even need a reason?

Oikawa shrugs.

“It’s just comfortable.” He says, surprising even himself.

“Aren’t you afraid for yourself?” She sounds surprised, like she wasn’t expecting to say that. “What about your health? Or your employment opportunities?”

“My health is fine, mom.” He sets the dish he finished drying and the kitchen rag on the counter and turns to her. “I feel good, better even. I’m actually sleeping if you can believe it.”

“Maybe sleeping too much?” She ventures.

“No,” He says gently. “Just enough.” He takes her wet hands in his dry ones. “I’m just happy, mom. I’m finally studying what I want, and I’m focused on that, that’s all.” He thinks about all the time he spent working out with Iwaizumi in middle school and high school, and how he would do all of his space research at night in his room. Now he gets to just go to class and take it all in during the day. Sure, he treats himself to different foods more than some students probably would, but who cares? It really isn’t doing him any harm. If anything, his doughy belly is just proof of his dedication and wellbeing.

“What about getting hired?” She’s still frowning, looking at their joined hands.

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it,” He concedes. “But you know I’m going to write a kickass thesis that will blow them all away and force them to hire me no matter what I look like.”

“And what about girls? I can’t imagine they must be thrilled by this new development.” She almost sounds like she’s teasing him, but he can tell at the back of her mind she’s thinking of marriage and babies and all the things Oikawa isn’t sure he could give her regardless. He wants to tell her ‘boys seem to like me fine’ but he’s not ready for that yet. Instead he just says, “Don’t worry about that for now, mom.” and “All is well.”

When he finally goes up to take a bath, Kuroo is in his pajamas on the futon. He gives him a smile and a thumbs up.

Clearly, he was listening.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next week: It's sport time!!


	8. Protostars and Constellations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This could be the start of something new; it feels so right to be here with you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ok so there is minimal sport... but there is some!

 

 

[IWA♡CHAN] Hey.  
[IWA♡CHAN] I know we just saw each other but.  
[IWA♡CHAN] We’re in the Prime Minister Cup

Oikawa is about to type something but Iwaizumi beats him to it.

[IWA♡CHAN] Wanna come see us before it starts?

 

 

“Kenmaaaaaaa~” Oikawa turns around in his chair.

“What.” It’s still hot in early September and despite the AC Kenma is in a crop top and little sweatpant shorts. Their pale belly looks like a big soft mochi. They rest their Nintendo Switch on it while they play.

“I just told my mom I was super focused on school~” He whines.

“And?”

“And Iwaizumi just asked me to visit him.”

“So go,” They say like it’s easy.

“Kenmaaaa, I can’t just leave, I have a lab report due next week.”

“So do it first?” They blow a piece of their bangs out of their face. The rest hangs in a little bun behind their head. “You’re not actually going for the full cup are you?” Oikawa doesn’t know how or why Kenma would know anything about soccer at all. Probably video games. “The President’s Cup or something?” Maybe they just have an approximate knowledge of many things.

“No, not even for the first game. Just a day or two before it starts.” Oikawa thinks about it. “I think Iwaizumi wants me there for emotional support.”

“Well then go. Aliens can wait.”

“Aliens wait for no one.” Oikawa says sagely.

“Well they’ll wait for you. Aren’t you the Alien King?”

“Hey!” Oikawa yelps. “Who told you that?!”

“Kuro.”

 

 

[☆TOORU☆] how could u???????

[KUROO(=‐ω‐=)] I don’t kno what ur talkin about. (=‐ω‐=)

 

 

It’s weird to be back in Sendai so soon. Iwaizumi is at the station. He smiles. Oikawa can feel his heart smiling back. It’s a weird feeling. They hug and Oikawa feels flushed. When they pull apart, Iwaizumi looks like he’s blushing. Outside of the station the sun is setting. Oikawa wants to hold his hand. Would that make it weird? It must be a thing some friends do at least. Everything is orange. It really is the end of summer.

“Are you hungry?” Iwaizumi looks up at him. Just a few weeks ago, Oikawa would have been self-conscious and tempted to lie. Now he just nods. “Let’s go to a ramen place, my treat.”

They stop at a little counter and Iwaizumi lifts the decorative banner up for him. It feels like a date.

They sit on two of the five barstools there and Oikawa sets his backpack at his feet. They eat and the nice man at the counter fills their bowls back up and they eat more. They talk a little bit, but not a lot. For the first time in his life Oikawa feels like an old soul. By the time they’re walking to Iwaizumi’s dorm, the stars are out. Oikawa is full of broth and soda and the bumpy bus ride doesn’t help but when they get out, Iwaizumi leads them to a little hill and they sit in the grass there for a while. Oikawa doesn’t ask why. They’re just far enough away from the main city lights. It’s second nature to him by now to look up. It really is a gorgeous view of the sky.

“That one there is Cassiopeia, right?” Iwaizumi points to a little squiggle in the sky.

“That’s actually Lacerta,” Oikawa moves his hand up a bit. “That M over there is Cassiopeia.” Iwaizumi hums. Oikawa swallows. He tries to control his beathing but that just makes it sound stranger. He finally lets go of Iwaizumi’s hand.

“What about that one?” He points to a closely gathered cluster that almost looks like a little kite.

“Delphinus.” Oikawa asserts.

“And that long thing over there?”

“Can you even see that or are you making it up?” Oikawa teases. Iwaizumi shoves him lightly.

“I might have studied a map,” He looks away.

“It’s Draco.” Oikawa says after a moment. He can’t believe Iwaizumi would do that for him. Or more accurately, he can believe it because that’s just the kind of person his best friend is. He looks at him in wonder. He’s so lucky.

“That’s the little dipper though, right?” Iwaizumi says after a while.

“Yeah,” Oikawa smiles. “I’m sure it’s not used to being noticed last,” Oikawa grins.

“The long dragon one just seemed more impressive…”

Eventually they get up. The evening dew fell long before they sat down so their butts are wet. The bottom of Oikawa’s backpack is wet too, but hopefully that didn’t get the chance to seep through. They walk up the four flights of stairs to Iwaizumi’s room. Oikawa tries to breathe through his nose but it’s not very effective. He’s struggling to think of a way to believe that his being out of breath is cute, but luckily Iwaizumi doesn’t seem to be paying much attention. He fiddles with his keys and unlocks the door on the fifth try. He flicks on the overhead light and Oikawa drops his bag on the floor. He forgot that Iwaizumi’s room has bunk beds.

“Daichi is out for the night, but I didn’t get permission to use his bed, so…” Oikawa prepares himself for having to sleep on the floor. Iwaizumi gestures to the top bunk instead. “Do you mind sharing a bed with me?”

Oikawa feels like the Earth just stopped spinning.

“Sure!” He says, only a little bit over exuberant. “It’ll be just like when we were kids!”

Iwaizumi takes off his shirt and Oikawa almost dies on the spot.

He has a bit of a farmer’s tan but that’s neither here nor there. Clearly he also spent a lot of time this summer practicing shirtless because the freckles that usually appeared only on his face and arms during the summer also made their way to his chest and shoulders and probably his back. Oikawa takes a deep breath and takes his own shirt off. Thanks to Kenma and Akaashi’s advice he knows what he looks like. He’s pale and jiggly and his stomach is starting to split into two distinct bellies. Honestly, he’d still date himself. Too bad he doesn’t know what Iwaizumi’s type is. He turns around to take his pants off, partially because he can’t really trust himself to be fully flaccid right now but also because there’s a ridiculous part of him that’s hoping maybe his ass will be enough to change Iwaizumi’s mind.

He excuses himself to the washroom to brush his teeth. When he closes his eyes he can see a looping image of shirtless Iwaizumi in high definition.

 

 

Iwaizumi’s bed is standard in size. It’s less like a mattress and more like a thick futon in a wooden box. Also it’s suspended about six feet in the air. Oikawa figures if Kenma and Akaashi can still share a bed this should be no problem.

Iwaizumi goes up first. Oikawa can’t help it this time and looks at his perfectly sculpted butt flex under his thin pyjama pants. The light in the room might be off but the street lights outside are bright enough that Oikawa can see everything. He goes up next and the ladder creaks a little. Oikawa ignores it. It’s a little hard to manoeuvre his body once he’s up there but he figures it would have been hard at his height anyway, they’re pretty close to the ceiling.

Oikawa slips under the covers. There’s no air conditioning but it’s cooler here at night than it is in Tokyo. They’re close but they’re not touching. Still, Oikawa can feel the heat radiating off of Iwaizumi’s skin. They both lay on their backs, stiff as boards. Oikawa’s not sure which of them starts laughing first. It starts with an escaped giggle and escalates quickly to two roaring lions. The bedframe shakes. Someone knocks on one of the walls. Still, they can’t stop no matter how hard they try. Oikawa briefly remembers Iwaizumi telling him about a strict floor monitor but there’s nothing to be done. They’re both crying and laughing, and laughing and crying. Oikawa feels like his head is floating. His arm brushes against Iwaizumi’s side and stays there, and that’s okay. Eventually they sober up.

“Shirabu must be out.” Iwaizumi says once they’re both past bursting into new fits of giggles. Oikawa hums. Iwaizumi sleeps with his arms behind his head. His right pit is wide open near Oikawa’s face but it isn’t unpleasant. He smells clean, like old deodorant and fresh laundry and himself.

“Goodnight,” Iwaizumi says with a yawn.

“Goodnight.”

 

 

  

The next morning Oikawa wakes up snuggled onto Iwaizumi’s chest, one arm slung over his torso, the other going numb under himself. He's self-conscious, but not enough to pull away. He blows on Iwaizumi’s face to wake him up.

“Get off,” Iwaizumi mumbles. The arm that isn’t locked in place by Oikawa’s body tries to swat him away. “You’re heavy,” He weakly wiggles uselessly.

“Nah,” Part of him really wants to push it. He could get on top of him. Oikawa could flop down on him and probably knock the air out of him. Before that idea would have been mortifying but right now it’s honestly tempting. He doesn’t. Instead he starts to pull away. He props himself up on an elbow. Their legs are still tangled together and Oikawa’s tummy is still partly draped onto Iwaizumi’s abs. He’s getting a bit too warm under the sheets with the full morning sun coming in. Oikawa goes to pull away. His belly button suctions off of Iwaizumi’s midsection with an audible pop.

“Heh,” Oikawa only blushes a little bit. “Nice.”

“…Cute…” Iwaizumi blushes more.

Oikawa tries to not let that get to his head. He pulls his shirt down and climbs down the ladder first.

What a way to start the day.

 

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Week: Meet the team!


	9. Celestial Bodies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Celestial bodies travel across a magnetic field, flinging themselves in and out of Oikawa's orbit while he stands next to the sun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry if it seemed like there wouldn't be a new chapter this week! I'm glad I found a way to fit it in and I hope you enjoy!!

 

 

The sun is still rising when Oikawa and Iwaizumi walk to the university meal hall. They walk in silence in their accidentally matching white t shirts and black shorts. Around them sleepy students mill around in a daze. Iwaizumi's university campus has about half the population of Todai, but the grounds are bigger to make room for all the different sports teams and the agriculture students. It takes Oikawa a moment to notice but during the twenty minute walk to the cafeteria  about two dozen other students join themselves to their group. None of them say much, so at first he thinks they're just people walking nearby, but then one claps Iwaizumi on the back, and another mumbles hello, and finally one of them looks kind of familiar. Before he knows it, Oikawa is surrounded by Iwaizumi's teammates.

They monotonously swipe their ID cards to get in. Iwaizumi hangs back so he can run his twice and let Oikawa in. He is vaguely aware of the rich sound of almost thirty pairs of sneakers running down a flight of stairs. They make their way down too and immediately get waved over to a table by an obnoxiously tall boy with a raddish looking haircut. The boy briefly turns to snap something at a grumpy looking guy with black hair hanging in front of his eyes. When he looks back at them, Iwaizumi waves back at him and motions to Oikawa, then he steers him toward to breakfast bar.

"That was Kindaichi-sempai. He's really nice. We can go say hi later." Iwaizumi starts pilling things on his plate. "And beside him was Kageyama-san, our captain that I told you about." Oikawa makes a face and Iwaizumi laughs. "We don't have to go sit with them if you don't want to," He chuckles. Oikawa sticks his tongue out. "Noted." Iwaizumi jokes.

They do end up sitting at the same table, but by the time they have food and coffees, places near the third years are all taken up by other guys from the team anyway. They sit further down between an embarrassed looking Daichi getting ribbed by a silver haired guy who isn't wearing athletic gear, and Yaku-san from Tanabata.

"What's your first name?" Oikawa asks conversationally between bites of egg on rice.

"Don't tell him." Iwaizumi warns him, but he doesn't listen.

"Morisuke." Yaku answers casually.

"Morisukun?" Oikawa grins.

"Damnit." Yaku curses himself. "At least it's not Yakkun..." He mumbles.

"Oh what's that! You would prefer Yakkunnn??"

"Goddamnit."

A few of the guys around them chuckle. Iwaizumi rolls his eyes. The guy bothering Daichi gives him a high five. It's refreshing.

They're about done when Kageyama tells the whole table to head to the field. Sugawara leaves. Oikawa tries to keep up with Iwaizumi but Kageyama makes them run back up the stairs and through the campus. He makes it a few dozen feet out of the building before falling to the tail end of the group, and then they get away from him completely. He's out of breath. He stops. He doesn't know where he is. It looks like a courtyard with trees and campus buildings on all sides. There are a few people looking at him.  It's a little stressful but at least he thinks he knows where the field might be maybe...

"Hey!" A cheerful voice chirps behind him. "You're Iwaizumi-kun's friend, right?" A bright face with even brighter orange hair looks at him curiously. "Wanna walk to the field together?" Oikawa nods, a little surprised. The boy is short and round and he looks quite young but he talks to Oikawa like he's older than him so he probably is. "I'm Hinata by the way, I'm the manager!" Oikawa is a little surprised. "Don't look so surprised!" He was hoping it didn't show. He bows his head a little. Hinata laughs. "I was a player in high school,  centre forward and everything, but I didn't make the team so..." He shrugs. "And then I got fat." He grins and shakes his plump belly with one hand.

Oikawa blushes. He doesn't know what to say, but it doesn't matter. Hinata seems perfectly able to fill the silence on his own.

"Anyway! It's nice of you to come see us! It'll be good for the team to think of something else for the day..." He looks up at Oikawa again. "All the boys have been mega stressed lately. It's the first time in eight years that we have more first year players than any other year, and it's been stressing the captain out more than he'd like to admit..." Hinata frowns. "We're dating by the way! The captain and I, I mean! So don't hesitate to ask for advice or anything!" Hinata puffs out his chest. Oikawa blinks. Hinata turns red. "I-I mean... You're gay, right? I didn't read that wrong? You and Iwaizumi...?" Hinata makes a series of flustered gestures. Oikawa doesn't know how to tell Hinata he didn't out himself to the wrong person while also telling him he isn't actually quite fully gay and that he and Iwaizumi aren't actually dating, so he just nods quickly.

"Yeah," He says. "Yeah!" He kicks himself mentally. "It's... like that... so. Yeah." He nods again and a chill runs down his spine. He looks around, expecting Iwaizumi to jump out from a bush and fight him but there's no one around. They're in a fully forested area now. Oikawa doesn't know where the sidewalk ended but they're on a narrowing dirt path and fern leaves tickle his bare legs.

"Okay," Hinata breathes a sigh of relief. "This way," He points to a break between the trees. Oikawa follows him. They go off path and squeeze between the bushes, only to emerge out of a ditch onto the track surrounding a pristinely mowed field. Hinata grins. "There we are!" He announces. "Shortcut!" He beams proudly. Oikawa reaches over and pulls a twig from his hair. In the distance, he can see the team running a lap."Hey," Hinata tilts his head to the side. "Wanna help me out since you're here?"

Oikawa nods and Hinata leads him to an equipment shed. They push carts of balls and various other things to the sidelines next to some wooden bleachers. Then, they hang the netting on the goals. They head back to the shed to get a hand pump and then they sort the balls by softness and fix up the really squishy ones. Finally, by the time the team is doing stretches Oikawa and Hinata are filling water bottles.

"Hey," Iwaizumi waves at him when they get back to the bleachers. "Thanks for helping out our manager."

"No problem," Oikawa smiles. He hands him a full water bottle and several others get snatches from his arms by passing players. "It's fun," He admits.

"Heh," Iwaizumi makes a noise.

"What?" Oikawa crowds him. "Are you making fun of me or something?" He sticks his tongue out at his best friend.

"Nah," Iwaizumi clearly lies.

"Hey, I can be helpful too you know!"

Kageyama calls everyone back to the centre of the field and Oikawa barely catches the almost empty water bottle Iwaizumi throws at him before running off. When he turns around, Hinata is smiling at him.

"What?"

"Oh, nothing," The short ginger snickers.

 

 

"So what is everyone stressing about?" Oikawa asks Hinata half way through a practice game. "They seem good to me."

"They are," Hinata clarifies. "But see how the teams are divided?"

Oikawa looks at the field. It is kind of strange. One team is made entirely of first years. The other has every other year combined. There's no way to tell by looking at the scoreboard who will win.

"That's not necessarily a disadvantage though, is it?"

"Look closer."

Oikawa squints but it doesn't help. Instead he watches the rest of the match in silence. They're only playing one practice half, but it's enough time for Oikawa to observe. There's nothing off in either team, or in any individual player, the problem seems to appear when the two teams meet. Anytime the ball changes teams, there's a weird hiccup that happens. They're playing against each other, it's not supposed to be easy, but as the game progresses nothing changes.

"Oh!" He says at the end right after the whistle blows. "They're playing like teams who've never met before, they're not well integrated at all, are they?"

"Bingo."

"Why is it like that?"

"Well..." Hinata looks away.

"KAGEYAMA!!" The coach yells from behind them. Oikawa jumps. He hadn't been paying attention to anything other than the match, who knows when the man got there. He jumps down from the bleachers and runs toward midfiled. He seems energetic... and also very angry. "wHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!" The coach yells more things but it's harder to make out the words once he's further away.

"Kageyama has been having some difficulty relating to the youth..." Hinata admits. Oikawa snorts. "What! It's not easy!" It's cute to see his boyfriend try to defend him. Oikawa looks at Kageyama on the field and he does look quite flustered talking to the coach and then to his teammates. Oikawa still doesn't like him, but at least he can laugh at him a little bit. And if he imagines him as failing a kindergarten teacher getting swarmed by hyperactive soccer kids well that's his own right.

"Oikawa-kun!" Hinata scolds him.

 

 

"Hey, what's up?" Tanaka plops on the bench next to him. Hinata hands him a towel and he runs it over his entire bald head. Oikawa hopes he puts sunscreen on it. The sun is at its highest now. On the field the home team is playing a standard length game against a visiting school. Benched players are strewn about the bleachers around him watching, stretching or just bouncing their legs.

"Are you okay?" Oikawa can't help but ask. Tanaka brushes grass off his shoulder. He's acting pretty casual but he did just get knocked over on his back by a forward from the opposite team.

"Oh yeah," He waves him off. Then his face gets really scary. "I'll get him next time."

"Yeah, Tanaka-kun!" Hinata cheers him on. He turns his attention back to the field for a minute. "Oh!" Hinata winces. "I think Kyoutani-kun just did it for you..." A penalty is called and Mad Dog stomps over to the bench. He sits hard enough that the whole structure bounces. Hinata silently offers him  a water bottle.

"Thanks, man," Tanaka calls out to him. Mad Dog doesn't answer.

"Stupid team playing stupid fuckin dirty," He mumbles instead.

"Yeah," Oikawa pipes up. "What do they think this is, rugby?" Oikawa laughs but no one laughs with him.

Everyone is quiet. They're holding their breath and it isn't because of the joke. They look at Mad Dog. He looks at Oikawa. Oikawa wants to ask him what his problem is, but he doesn't say anything. He holds his gaze. Mad Dog gives him a once over. Then, he looks away. Once the tension has left the air, Oikawa turns to Hinata questioningly. The manager just kind of shrugs it off. Tanaka seems to think it's funny so Oikawa doesn't worry too much about it. Later when Mad Dog is back in play, Oikawa has to ask.

"What was that all about?"

"Oh, well..." Hinata looks to make sure the concerned party is back on the field. "I probably shouldn't tell you, but..."

"He's jealous." A tall beefy boy with wild two-toned hair cuts in casually. "Kyoutani-sempai likes Iwaizumi. He fights people about it all the time, like Raddish-sempai." He shrugs. "I think he was sizing you up." He silently takes a water bottle and chugs it. Sweat leaks down his temples and Oikawa guesses he's who Kyoutani went to replace.

"Bokuto-kun!" Hinata swats his underclassman away with a towel. "You complete bean! You can't just out people!"

Bokuto blinks.

"Well, but that's Iwaizumi's boyfriend, right?" Bokuto points at Oikawa. "Doesn't that make him safe to tell?"

Hinata sputters. Oikawa too.

"Well yes, but no, but not like that!!" Hinata scolds Bokuto while Oikawa quickly takes inventory of who heard that. There's Tanaka who's guffawing at his underclassman. There's a couple of guys down the bench who weren't listening. There's Yaku who is stretching nearby and doesn't seem to have heard anything. "And don't do it twice!" Hinata is relentless with the towel and it gets muddier with every stroke. "You bisexual buffoon!"

"Hey!" Bokuto tries to shield himself but Hinata is too quick and his jump is surprisingly high for someone that tubby."How is that fair?" He wines.

"Everyone here knows already, you came out on the first day of training camp!"

Oikawa is fascinated by that admission. It's almost enough to get his mind off of his own little outing. He doesn't really know anyone who would do that. He's still mostly in the closet himself and the only person he knows who's ever told their parents anything at all is Kenma and they only had to do it in order to start hormones. Bokuto pouts and sulks and Hinata tells him nice things to cheer him up. There must be about forty guys on the team's roster. With Kageyama and Hinata, Yakkun, Iwaizumi, and now Bokuto that means that at least an eighth of the team is queer somehow. And the rest of the team is just... aware and chill with it? His heart feels warm in a way he could never describe to a straight person. Oikawa doesn't often think of his identity as a thing, it's more about who he could date if he were dating. Meeting other people like him reminds him of the ways he's different but also not alone.

He doesn't notice Hinata and Bokuto noticing him or the way he's smiling to himself.

 

 

"So you're Oikawa-kun though, right?" Bokuto sits next to him once Tanaka is clear to get back on the field.

"Yeah," Oikawa nods. "You're Bokuto-kun, right? Iwaizumi told me about you."

"Good things, I hope!" Bokuto laughs but Oikawa can immediately pick up how nervous he is beneath his boisterous demeanor.

"Only the best," He assures him.

"Yeah?"

"You're the forward who tried out with him, right?" Oikawa knows this for a fact. He would have looked different back then, and the Astroturf dome would have been crowded with all sorts of prospects and their supports, but Oikawa was there last March the day of the tryouts. "He says he's not sure he would have made it on the team without you." He's always been really good at timing the release of other people's secrets. Bokuto glows.

"Woah..." He stares off at the field. The team is winning. Iwaizumi scores another goal. "Sweet."

 

 

Other people come and go, including Iwaizumi a few times. They finish the match and win it. They walk the other team back to their bus, then they shoot goals for an hour and run between cones and then run some more cool off laps and stretch again and by the end of it Oikawa is exhausted on their behalf. He waits with Hinata while they hit the showers and looks away when a dripping Kageyama steps out in just a towel to kiss Hinata on the lips. Hinata sighs into it and Oikawa stares at individual blades of grass on the ground. If he didn't know better, Oikawa would think it's a power play. Instead, it's painfully obvious that Kageyama really is that oblivious to other people and that taken with Hinata. He goes back inside and Hinata slumps against the wall while Oikawa observes a  ladybug swallowing a little green aphid on the stem of a lingering wildflower.

"Hehe... sorry about that." Hinata doesn't look sorry at all but he does sound a little sheepish.

 

 

"I think it might have worked." Iwaizumi nods to himself while they walk to the station. It feels later than it is with the way the sun is setting so much earlier than it was just a few weeks ago.

"I'm glad." Oikawa beams. "No one can resist my charm." He grins.

"Yeah yeah..." Iwaizumi playfully rolls his eyes. "Make any friends?"

"I mean I got like twelve phone numbers," Oikawa only exaggerates a little. Iwaizumi shoves him into the quiet road. Oikawa only stumbles a step or two. "They're good guys." He says finally.

"Yeah," Iwaizumi agrees. "We're a good team," He adds.

"Have you stopped freaking out about the cup yet?"

"You know I haven't," Iwaizumi laughs self-deprecatingly.

"You're silly, you're great." Oikawa says with absolute confidence. He can see the station up ahead and he needs Iwaizumi to understand this before he goes.

"You should sleep more." Iwaizumi deflects instead.

"What are you, my mom?" It slips out on its own like a reflex. Oikawa puts his arms up but he's too slow. Iwaizumi hits him with a backhand across the chest. The impact sends a little ripple across his torso. It doesn't hurt that much. Iwaizumi looks at him intensely and for a second Oikawa thinks he might start an actual fight.

"It's good to see you so full of yourself again." He says instead. Internally, Oikawa breathes a sigh of relief.

"Heh," He puffs himself up like a peacock and his face twists into a familiar mask. "Well, you see--"

"Never mind I take it back."

"That's so mean, Iwa-chan!"

"Whatever, go find aliens already." He jokes. Oikawa smiles. Iwaizumi smiles back.

"I will, you know!" He announces.

"I know."

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Week: Oikawa walks in on something Interesting.


	10. The Full Moon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Following an unexpected eclipse the full moon needs a favour.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry I didn't update last week! I tried and tried but I couldn't get myself to write anything D: I hope the contents of this chapter make up for its length ;D

 

 

It’s fully dark out by the time to train pulls into the station. It’s warmer and heavier here than it was in Miyagi. Oikawa looks at the stars all the way home, guided by his feet and his heart.  He’ll have to thank Kenma when he gets to the dorms. It really was the best decision to go, and something in those stars tells him the lab report he submitted before leaving will be just fine. Oikawa’s feet guide him home to his building and up the stairs all the way to his door without problem. He knocks softly but no one answers. He lets himself in thinking he’ll probably be alone. It’s a bit of a surprise but maybe Kenma is out with Akaashi or Kuroo somewhere.

He’s completely unprepared for the sight that greets him when he swings the door open.

 

 

Kenma is sprawled on their bed on top of their comforter. They’re in tiny red shorts and a black bralette, their big bloated tummy obscenely sandwiched between the two. Their face looks spectacularly lewd but there’s something pained in their expression. They look like they’re in a food comma. It would make sense with all the food wrappers littering the bed around them. To top it all off, they're writhing, and moaning, and desperately trying to massage the swell of their belly with their limp hands.

It’s too much. Oikawa can feel the heat rising up his neck and all over his face. The pit in his lower belly aches in a way that he can’t afford right now when the subject of his sudden desire is his roommate. His roommate and sort-of kind-of mentor, and friend that he cherishes a lot. His face isn’t the only place feeling hot and bothered.

Oikawa almost walks back out, but Kenma practically begs him to stay.

“Tooru!” They whine. “Please…” Oikawa sighs and turns around.

“What happened?” He asks even though he has a pretty good idea. He sits on his own bed and crosses his legs. He tries to shield his eyes without being too obvious but Kenma just smirks at him weakly.

"You shoulda seen the other guy." They say instead of answering him. They chuckle and then moan when the motion disturbs their aching stomach.

Oikawa is trying to keep his cool. He doesn’t want to think about Akaashi, handsome dark Akaashi, equally as bloated having to walk down those stairs and back outside in the warm air in a similar state as Kenma right now. He hopes he’s okay at least.

“We were in the middle of something and he forgot he had a tutoring session to go to,” Kenma explains eventually once they’ve caught their breath.

God, that’s even worse.

“Yeah,” Kenma agrees even though Oikawa didn’t say anything out loud. “Well in any case it’s his fault.” Kenma grumbles. “And now I’m stuck like this,” They gesture to their obvious predicament. “Until it all gets digested somehow.”

“Do you want any medicine?” Oikawa asks tentatively. He’s not sure if it would ruin the experience if that’s also a part of it or not. Still he starts rooting through his bag for it, just in case.

“Already took some,” Kenma says before moaning again. “I think it has its limits though…” Kenma looks down at the dome of their belly. It no longer looks like a soft mochi. Instead it’s more like a round hard candy that’s kind of melting at the bottom. Peach flavoured. “God that was a lot.”

Oikawa wants to ask what it was but he can’t be that forward yet. Instead he tries to read the packaging. It looks like a lot of different convenience store treats. There are dorayaki papers, cream cornet wrappers, a box of sweet taro roll cakes, and more. There are also three big plastic cups of what look like finished bubble teas on Kenma's desk. To wash it down, probably. Oikawa doesn’t know what to do.

“Would you like some water?” Kenma shakes their head slowly. “A moist washcloth?” Kenma laughs and regrets it again.

“M’fine.” They mumble.

Oikawa doesn’t want to push it but he’s also not sure he can sleep with a moaning Kenma in distress in the room. He’s not exactly ready for a reverse of that night from a few months ago that he can’t quite forget.

“Are you sure? There’s nothing I can do?”

Kenma actually thinks about it. Then their golden eyes light up.

“Well, there is one thing…”

“What is it?” Oikawa doesn’t think to be suspicious.

“You could do what Akaashi would have done if he’d stayed.”

Oikawa swallows noticeably.

“W-what’s that?”

“You could give me a belly rub.”

 

 

The world stops. Instead, there’s only Oikawa’s head spinning wildly. It’s a good thing he’s sitting down. He thinks he might be seeing stars and he’s not sure that’s a good thing this time.

“A-are you sure?” Oikawa doesn’t really want to get out of it but at the same time he feels like he has to. “Wouldn’t that just hurt more?”

“Not if it’s done right,” Kenma says in a matter-of-fact way.

“I don’t know how.” Oikawa says just in case that’s not obvious by context or the way his whole body feels like it’s trembling.

“That’s okay, I can guide you.” Kenma sits up slowly. “It’s not as good when I try to do it myself.”

“Well, okay.” Oikawa nods.

“You’re going to have to come closer,” Kenma clarifies when Oikawa doesn’t move. Oikawa shoots up. “Sit here,” Kenma motions to the place where they were just lying down. It’s warm. It feels intimate. The only time Oikawa has ever been on Kenma's bed was when they were watching a movie with Kuroo that one time. Now they’re alone. Their comforter is thicker than Oikawa’s and it’s kind of hard to move on even if he’s not the too full one. “Here,” Kenma takes Oikawa’s hands in theirs. He had never noticed how much smaller than his their hands were before. Kenma places Oikawa’s hands on the top of their distended belly. He gasps softly. They spread out his long bony fingers so that Oikawa looks like he’s in a prime groping position. He hopes Akaashi doesn’t decide to come back after his thing. This feels like it would be hard to explain.

Kenma's stomach is burning hot. Sometimes it makes noises loud enough that he can hear them and sometimes they’re intense enough that he can even feel them. Clearly it’s hard at work.

“What now?” Pulled between moving his hands and keeping them still, his fingers twitch.

“Do little circles to start.”

Oikawa does just that, careful not to press too hard. Kenma's skin is soft. They probably use a lotion of some kind but Oikawa can’t smell it.

“Like that?” Oikawa looks up at Kenma's face but their eyes are closed. They nod and hum in approval.

“You can go a bit bigger,” They instruct. Oikawa does. Kenma moans softly, involuntarily.

He massages the top of Kenma's midsection, right under the bralette, then he moves more towards the middle of the globe. The sides are next. Out of instinct he makes sure to press a bit harder just in case Kenma is ticklish. He doesn’t dare go lower than Kenma's belly button down to where their flesh spreads out into softer fat. He’s not sure it would be of any use so he won’t go until he’s instructed. Still, it’s tempting.

“You can go lower too,” Oikawa will never get used to the way Kenma always seems to know what he’s thinking.

Oikawa makes sure he’s been thorough where he’s more familiar before slowly daring to go lower. He traces the path of Kenma's side rolls and love handles down to their soft overhang. He makes sure not to grab and keeps his palms flat. That seems like the proper boundary considering the situation. Kenma is still making occasional sounds of relief so he must be doing something right.

It really is nice.

Oikawa knows he’s still blushing like mad but he can’t help it. Kenma's belly is just so soothing to touch. It feels as amazing as it looks, even when it’s so full like this. It really is an erotic experience even if he’s technically just helping out a friend. It’s so pale. Oikawa gets lost in the motions and the pliancy of his roommate’s perfect soft flesh. He doesn’t know how much time passes. Eventually he looks up at Kenma's face to see if maybe they want him to stop.

They’re asleep.

Oikawa keeps going for a few minutes before dropping his hands. He wants to move Kenma in a laying position but he doesn’t know what would be comfortable. He gets up and tries to lean them down like they were before. It’s probably too hot for the comforter anyway, so Oikawa drapes one of his extra blankets over them. He gathers his things to take a shower and turns the lights off. There’s really no helping what happens in the shower after that.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Week: A light is shun onto abstract feelings, giving them shape.


	11. Alien Comet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A gift appears like alien elements falling from a comet to change the ecosystem~｡*:･ﾟ

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter took a different turn! Next week's chapter is going to be what was supposed to happen this week because the first two lines of the outline for it got out of hand lol I kinda love when that happens and I hope you do too!

 

 

“I thought we were supposed to coast through university,” Kenma says with a bored voice. “Isn’t that what the great big entrance exam was all about?” They’re laying on their bed with their feet up against the wall, painting their toenails.

“Technically yes,” Oikawa mumbles with a pencil in his mouth. He has three more in his hand and another behind his ear.

“So…” Kenma waits for their roommate to explain himself.

“So, not for me.” Oikawa says now with a highlighter cap between his teeth. He glides the yellow thing across a page while still holding his other three pencils in that same hand.

“Right, you have aliens to catch.” Kenma rolls their eyes but it’s not a malicious gesture.

“Yeah, I have aliens to catch.” Oikawa agrees. For a moment, Kenma is silent. They finish the rest of their left foot with black holographic polish.

“Hey, Tooru.”

“Hmm?”

“The aliens aren’t going to ask to see your report card, you know?”

“You don’t know that,” He replies without missing a beat. Oikawa drops four of his pens and slips a fifth one behind his other ear. He turns in his chair. “Besides, you know who does?”

“Hmm?”

“The professors. The really cool ones that are looking for aliens. Right. Now.” Oikawa has a pink line of highlighter over his right eye. Kenma is trying not to laugh. “If I get good enough grades maybe they’ll take me to space with them!”

“I didn’t know you wanted to be an astronaut.” They’re genuinely surprised. It’s never come up before.

“I wanted to when I was a kid, but…” Oikawa looks like he’s remembering something far away. “Now that’s not what I’m aiming for necessarily… More like. I want them to come to me, you know?” Oikawa seems to brighten at that. “And then we can do experiments but like. Together. And we can figure out how to communicate and then I don’t really need to be an actual astronaut if they just take me up there with them, right?”

“Well don’t you already have access to the observatory?” Kenma points out. “You don’t need more than that to find them, do you?”

“What if I want to send them a message? How am I going to get them to come down here? I don’t have the equipment for that!”

Oikawa looks so earnest that Kenma can’t help but smile.

“Well then I guess you better get to studying, First Year,” Oikawa grins at the nickname. Kenma hates all that hierarchical stuff usually but it’s been a reoccurring nickname lately and he’s glad. It makes him feel like maybe he’s rubbing off on them too.

“Yes!” Oikawa gets back to his textbook and Kenma returns to their nail polish.

 

 

Three days later Kenma gets back to their dorm in the early afternoon to find Oikawa in the exact same position, now with more crumbs and more pens.

“I got your mail, and I snuck you out some lunch.” They say, carefully approaching their extremely concentrated roommate with caution. They slowly pull out a wrapped thing from the pouch of their hoodie. It’s been getting tighter lately but there still seems to be enough room for food in there at least.

“Thanks, Kenma.” Oikawa takes a big bite of his yakisoba sandwich without looking at it.

“Are you going to take the box? It’s kind of heavy…”

“Oh!” Oikawa flips around fast enough to get dizzy. “Thank you, I’m so sorry!” He takes the shoebox sized thing in one hand and almost drops it.

“It’s fine, I’m just worried about you…” Kenma brushes some of their hair in front of their face like that little admission is something to be embarrassed about. As Oikawa has learned these past few months, having any emotion at all seems to be enough to fluster his cute roommate. That is, when he’s not using the situation as a Teachable Moment to help Oikawa grow…

“I’m okay,” He tries to be reassuring. “I just wasn’t expecting any of this to be difficult, but I guess university algebra is a step above what I’m capable of.” Oikawa says that with a smile but his eyes are closed so Kenma smacks him.

“No.” They say simply. There’s no winning this when Oikawa is this deep into a funk so instead they say, “Open your package.”

Oikawa looks down at the box.

Iwaizumi sent it.

Oikawa is surprised. They haven’t been talking as much since Iwaizumi’s team lost the cup in the last match of the season. Oikawa knows it’s been really hard on him and everyone around him but he doesn’t know how to help from a distance so he’s been keeping quiet on his end too. He carefully tears the craft paper and opens the old cleats box. He gasps.

Iwaizumi sent Oikawa an exam care package.

There’s a little note on top. Seeing Iwaizumi’s writing again for the first time since senior year makes Oikawa oddly sentimental. It’s a weird thing to miss but it makes sense. It’s one of the only things he doesn’t have access to anymore. Oikawa starts reading and if he had been drinking anything he would have spit it out. Instead he makes a sort of inhuman screetching sound that makes Kenma jump out of their seat.

“What?!” They bristle. Oikawa tries to read the rest but he can’t. “Spit it out!” Kenma’s voice cracks.

“Apparently we’re going out—”

“Oh?” Kenma sounds angry but Oikawa knows they’re just still startled.

“We’re not! I mean. I’m reading it to you, hold on!”

Kenma gruffly pushes Oikawa’s pillow away and sits on his bed. Oikawa reads.

“A-apparently we’re going out, at least that’s what Bokuto told me.” Kenma blinks. “S-so I thought…” Oikawa swallows. “So I thought I’d be a good honorary boyfriend and send you nice things to get you through your exams. Remember to eat and sleep. If it gets to be too much try to remember that professors don’t really look at first years’ grades. I know you’re going to overwork yourself anyway so make sure you rely on the people around you, they sound like they’re good. And despite the recent loss, know that you can call me. I’m always here. Love, your boyfriend through the grapevine.”

Oikawa sits completely still, gripping the letter in his hands just light enough that it won’t crease. When he finally looks at Kenma, his roommate is smiling.

“That’s pretty cute,” They say. “What’s this whole boyfriend thing? Did you confess?”

“No!” Oikawa yelps with wide eyes. He sets the letter down. “I didn’t—I don’t—we’re not—”

“Breathe.”

“I didn’t confess!” Oikawa blurts out before taking in a big gulp of air. “I’m not even sure how I feel! I mean we did sleep in the same bed, but…” Kenma makes a sound at the back of their throat at that. “But no! It’s just… the manager of their team is cute and gay and he assumed and I wanted to make a good impression but I didn’t know how to clarify and then Kou-kun was there and apparently he can’t keep anything to himself!”

“Kou-kun?”

“Yeah, the forward on the team that plays with Iwaizumi all the time.” Kenma looks like they’re searching for something. Oikawa doesn’t know how to help. “Bokuto Koutarou? Do you know him?” Kenma’s eyes light up.

“Not exactly…” Their mind seems to be working overtime but apparently, they don’t want to share. Instead they say, “You should look at the rest of your box.”

Oikawa does.

It’s lovely, of course.

There’s a bottle of his favourite ramune which is probably what was making the box so heavy. There’s also some melon pan from his favourite Sendai bakery, two of his favourite conbini milk bread, some pens, a fresh eraser, a cold compress, a bottle of caffeine pills with a little caution note scrawled on that’s also in Iwaizumi’s writing, and a rock. Oikawa holds it in his palm. It’s the perfect shape and weight. He’s not exactly a rock collector so he’s a bit puzzled until he turns it over in his hands. There’s a date written in chalk. The day of the final cup match.

Oikawa isn’t crying but he feels like his soul is.

Wordlessly Kenma retreats to their half of the room. They flop an unnaturally heavy blanket on their bed and then crawl under the covers.

“Are you okay?”

“That was really cute.” They say instead of answering. Oikawa waits a minute before deciding to try again.

“Can I do anything?” Kenma takes a moment to answer.

“I’m good.” They mumble through thick layers of fabric and feathers. “Just a little bit buzzing still. Bad for the senses,” They explain. “I’m happy for you though.”

They don’t say anything else after that for a long time. Oikawa feels bad, but he knows it’s not really anyone’s fault, so he focuses on texting Iwaizumi his thanks.

 

[☆TOORU☆] ▒▒▓█▇▅▂∩( ✧Д✧)∩▂▅▇█▓▒▒  
[☆TOORU☆] (((o(*ﾟ▽ﾟ*)o))) THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THE CARE PACKAGE!!!! *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧

[IWA♡CHAN] well you know  
[IWA♡CHAN] gotta do my best as your shiny new boyfriend  
[IWA♡CHAN] ﾟ･:*｡(ꈍᴗꈍ)ε｀*)~｡*:･ﾟ

 

Oikawa is speechless. He pinches himself. He isn’t dreaming. How is this real? Does Iwaizumi mean any of it? It doesn’t sound like him, but then again Oikawa doesn’t really know what he sounds like when he’s… in love? In a relationship? Is that what’s happening? Or is this a big long prank? The care package didn’t seem like a joke at all, but Iwaizumi doesn’t really use little faces…

 

[IWA♡CHAN] I AM GOING TO KILL MAKKI IN HIS SLEEP

 

Oikawa blinks. His heart skips a beat and then it sinks a little. He quickly covers for himself.

 

[☆TOORU☆] now that sounds like Iwa-chan! (＾－＾)  
[☆TOORU☆] did what I think happen happen?? ʕ •ᴥ•ʔ

[IWA♡CHAN] Yes.  
[IWA♡CHAN] Sorry about that.

[☆TOORU☆] how tho?? Σ(°Д°；≡；°д°)  
[☆TOORU☆] did u get long distance hacked?! Σヽ(ﾟДﾟ; )ﾉ ｱｯ  
[☆TOORU☆] what do they teach at that university of his?? Σ(ﾟ口ﾟ;)//

[IWA♡CHAN] Nah  
[IWA♡CHAN] Makki and Matsukawa decided I was too grumpy  
[IWA♡CHAN] They imposed themselves on me  
[IWA♡CHAN] They’ve been here for three days now  
[IWA♡CHAN] I don’t know when they plan on leaving and at this point I’m too afraid to ask

[☆TOORU☆] Did You Just MEME At Me?

[IWA♡CHAN] What’s a meme?

 

Oikawa muffles a laugh behind his hand. He doesn’t want to startle Kenma any more. That’s such a classic Iwa-chan thing to say though. It’s a relief to know that the package is still from him. He doesn’t know what to do with the rest of the information. Iwaizumi still knows about the whole thing, and now that Makki and Mattsun know of course all hell has broken loose. They probably talked to Bokuto about it directly and who knows what he told them in front of Iwaizumi. It makes Oikawa nervous, but he doesn’t know how to bring any of it up. He reads the note again and by the time he’s done, new messages have appeared.

 

[IWA♡CHAN] If having me as an honourary boyfriend is too much  
[IWA♡CHAN] I can stop  
[IWA♡CHAN] It was Hinata’s idea?  
[IWA♡CHAN] And I thought it might be fun  
[IWA♡CHAN] But we don’t have to keep doing it.

 

Oikawa holds his breathe before pressing send.

 

[☆TOORU☆] no please keep it going!! (＝⌒▽⌒＝) I like it!

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Week: Why does everyone know Bokuto Koutarou?? (pssst, it's because he's a sweetie!!)


	12. 13.772 Billion Years with an Uncertainty of 59

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the flashback chapter no one knew they wanted!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for the long wait, I was so excited to write this that I got writer's block? Does that make sense?? Anyway. Triple sorry to everyone who doesn't/can't follow me on tumblr where I at least talked a bit about what was going on. I'm back!! I don't know if this counts for last week or this next week, we'll see how much writing time I have. I work 45 hrs a week now which is more than I ever have before, but I am full of vigor so who knows?

 

 

Kenma doesn’t let Oikawa study alone anymore. Instead, they invite Akaashi and Kuroo over because they’re both as incomprehensibly anal about their grades, and they have big study sessions together. This Friday afternoon, Akaashi is studying calculus while Kenma plays games using his belly as a pillow. Meanwhile, Kuroo has turned Oikawa’s wall into a mess of tape and strings. Oikawa is trying to follow but pens keep falling out of his hair and his glasses keep sliding off his nose.

“Can we take a break already?”

“Kenma,” Kuroo deadpans. “You’re not even studying.”

“Yeah, but this is boring,” They whine.

“How? This is what you’d be doing anyway,” Kuroo points out.

“No, if you all weren’t so the way you are I would be playing with Keiji’s belly right now.”

“Nobody’s stopping you,” Akaashi points out, lifting his shirt hem up as much as he can when Kenma's head is still on it. Oikawa throws a balled up piece of notebook paper at them.

“I don’t have enough brain cells left to process it, please don’t,” He pleads. Kenma snorts.

“I guess we could take a break.” Kuroo concedes, flopping down on Oikawa’s comforter. A few textbooks fall to the ground. 

Kenma distributes snacks and they all sit on the beds between piles of paper, pens, electronics, Oikawa’s alien merch and Kenma's clothes. Oikawa breaks the comfortable silence with an admission that feels like thunder to him but feels more like a light breeze to others.

 

“I think I have a crush on Iwa-chan.”

 

“Oh?” Akaashi has a soft smile on his face and looks amused.

“Oh ho ho?” Kuroo can’t help but add, his own grin widening.

“What? It’s a big deal!” Oikawa huffs.

“It is,” Kenma concedes. “But you have to understand, everyone else in here knew for months.”

“What?”

“He’s your honorary boyfriend.” Kuroo points out.

“You get all blushy when you talk about him,” Kenma adds.

“You really do,” Kuroo confirms. “He sent you that package, too.”

“It was a friendship package!”

“He literally wrote that it was a boyfriend package all over it.”

“You got me there.”

“It’s nothing to be ashamed of.” Akaashi says.

“I know.” Oikawa thinks for a while. “I’m just nervous. It feels so… big. Do I have to do anything about it?”

“Not necessarily,” Kenma says thoughtfully.

“How do people even get together? The only couple I know is Makki and Mattsun and nothing about that could be considered an example or a baseline.”

“The two from the festival?” Akaashi asks because he’s the only one not familiar with them by now. “Why not?” He’s curious. He tilts his head like a bird.

“Well for one they broke up.”

“Fair.”

“I also have no idea how they started dating. Mattsun showed up to class during lunch one day and asked if Makki wanted to date him and Makki said yes and then they fist bumped? And nothing changed. Then two months later Iwa-chan caught them making out in the equipment room. So who knows what actually happened?”

“Didn’t you just answer your own question?” Kuroo butts in.

“It couldn’t have been that simple.” Oikawa says like it’s obvious. “It must have been something else after, like a proper confession or something.”

Kuroo shrugs.

“Sometimes it really is that simple.”

“Hmm… Anyway, that was in our first year. They were together for two years. They did everything together. Volleyball, homework, friend stuff, date stuff, and they even applied to the same university…” Oikawa winces as he recalls it. “They both got in, and they signed the lease on their first apartment. We were almost graduated… And then they broke up.”

“Damn,” Kuroo hisses. “That’s a ride.”

“It was a rough few weeks but they ended up working things out somehow because they went through with all of it…” Oikawa still doesn’t know how that part happened. “They seem fine now, weirdly enough.”

“I believe it,” Kuroo smiles wistfully and Oikawa likes that his friend gets this happy for people he barely knows. “Didn’t you tell me they crashed Iwaizumi’s pity party last week?”

“Yeah, they still do everything together. They even go to mixers together. Is that normal at all?”

Oikawa looks around the room but no one seems to know. Kenma blinks.

“It seems normal for them,” They finally say. Oikawa hums.

“How did you two become a couple?” He finally asks, nodding toward Kenma and Akaashi. They look at each other uneasily and then at Kuroo.

“Huh?” Kuroo blinks. “Why are you both looking at me?” He meets Oikawa’s eyes but his friend just blinks back at him, equally clueless. He turns back to them. “He’s safe to tell, you know.” Kenma almost laughs at that.

“We know, it’s just…” Kenma hesitates in a way that Oikawa has rarely ever seen.

“You two should tell it, it’s a really good story,” Kuroo smiles because maybe he gets it or maybe he doesn’t really, but he’s genuine. It’s true. And it’s something Oikawa should hear.

Encouraged and relieved, Akaashi and Kenma start.

 

 

_In high school, Akaashi was on the girls’ soccer team. He was tall, and muscular, and really really good at it. He’d been into it since he was five and the hours of training showed in his playing, his body, his skin, and his short hair. In his school uniform, his strong legs, weird tan lines, grass stains, and restlessness set him apart. He bought his skirts longer to compensate for his height but boys still looked at him in a way that made him uncomfortable. He stopped wearing thigh high socks when he overheard one of his classmates tell one of his friends that he looked sexy in them. Akaashi hated being a girl._

_It wasn’t just the objectification, it was everything. His long hair bothered him before he cut it, his chest bothered him before he figured out how to supress it, his voice bothered him enough that he would scream into his pillow until it felt deeper and a little bit broken. When he was seven he ran crying to his mom after a rough day of elementary school physical education and pleaded with her to let him get a penis. She calmly told him no._

_Soccer made him feel powerful. It gave his weird, ill-fitting body purpose. His teammates liked him, his coach liked him, his school liked him. Some girls called him a prince sometimes and that felt strangely good. They called him tall, dark, and handsome and that felt even better even though none of them would actually date him. He rejected guy after guy after guy until he grew too tall and too mannish for them to be interested. It felt like a victory._

_He’d heard of high school students getting hormones and surgeries and getting to wear the uniform they felt best in. He wanted that for himself. He liked his teammates but he wanted to be on the boys’ team, and smile into his locker while he changed with his back to his team so they wouldn’t know, and wipe his hands with a handkerchief on his way out of the boys’ bathroom. His parents wouldn’t let him._

_When Akaashi turned eighteen he skipped cram school and got his first appointment with an endocrinologist._

_He was planning to go alone, but his best friend surprised him and went with him. They held hands on the way there and people around them whispered about how they made a cool athletic couple. He ignored them. They wouldn’t be so nice in a few months._

_Akaashi graduated with stubble and a letter informing him that his soccer scholarship had been revoked. His parents weren’t in the crowd but even then he felt happier than he had his entire life._

_He started university the same year as Kenma. They were in different departments and they didn’t see each other at the entrance ceremony. Akaashi forgot about soccer for a while. He missed it, but he had other things to worry about. His parents had given him a strange ultimatum. They would accept him as their son if he went into business and became a CEO. At the time Akaashi was flabbergasted. Eventually, he took a good look at his grades and talked them down to a CFO and an accounting degree. Every week he gave himself his testosterone shot and in the next spring he would be scheduled for his top surgery. Everything was going according to plan._

_And then the university womens’ soccer team learned about him._

_“Are you Akaashi-chan? The forward for Fukurodani Academy?”_

_He squared his shoulders and used his deepest register but they knew too much to accept his denials._

_“Join us! We need you!”_

_They tried to bribe him at first. They used compliments, flattery, gifts, and even money but he refused them. At first he was nice. He tried to explain. He told them about his scholarship, about how he couldn’t even if he had wanted to, and about how he was a boy, a man now, and he didn’t want to. They started telling him he was ruining his body, and his career, and that he would look stupid with a beard. Still, they were desperate for him to join the team. He tried to avoid them but they always found him, usually when he was trying to have lunch in the cafeteria._

_That’s where Kenma first saw him._

_Kenma didn’t understand what they were seeing at first. Every day a group of athletic girls would circle this kind of gorgeous looking boy and shout things at him until he left. It didn’t look like a fan club. It wasn’t always the same girls, but eventually Kenma could pinpoint what they had in common. Kenma felt curious, but at the same time cautious. They didn’t want to do anything that would turn the girls’ wrath on them. They were already self-conscious of being sort of visibly non binary, and now that they were in university, they finally had the freedom to start gaining. The last thing they needed was to be publicly humiliated in the cafeteria for being fat. They’d never be able to go there again. They sat closer and tried to listen in._

_It took a few days. Kenma memorized the times that Akaashi was most likely to stop in for a meal and the times the girls usually found him. Clearly he was trying to avoid them, but his classes must have stopped him from varying his meal times enough to throw them off. Kenma tried to sit facing Akaashi so that the girls would be turned away from them. Sometimes they saw glimpses of his expression. He looked uncomfortable, miserable, and resigned. He never noticed them, even though Kenma would sit closer and closer every day._

_The day Kenma finally caught on to what was going on they almost ran over there to fight._

_They gripped their tray as the first few jabs were said. They clenched their teeth as words became sharper, more pointed. How long had this been going on? It was already August. How many weeks had Akaashi been suffering this abuse? Kenma understood why he might not want to react, but that just made the situation more frustrating. Kenma stood up so suddenly that they knocked back their chair. A few people turned to look at them, including the girls and Akaashi. They glared at the girls and made eye contact with Akaashi. Then they ran out._

_The next day, when Akaashi sat down with his tray of food, Kenma wordlessly sat across from him._

_“Um, hi?” Akaashi wasn’t scared, but he was apprehensive. Kenma had no idea how they were being read? Did Akaashi know they were trans too? Did he see them as a boy? A girl? Or could he tell they were something else?_

_“Hi,” Kenma said, not sure how to pitch their voice._

_“I’m Akaashi Keiji,” Akaashi said even though he didn’t know why he was introducing himself first. Kenma felt a small delight in their chest at knowing Akaashi’s first name. It felt like a cleanser after having to hear Akaashi’s deadname repeated so many times._

_“I’m Kenma.” Kenma said because not saying their last name was the only way they had found to make Kenma sound gender neutral. “I’m non binary.” They said, because that felt like an explanation._

_“Oh,” The sound slipped from Akaashi’s lips. He seemed relieved._

_Neither of them knew what to say after that, but the silence that formed between them was comfortable enough. They felt safe. When a few girls from the soccer team came by to mess with Akaashi, Kenma calmly stared them down._

_“Not today,” They said simply. The girls hesitated, but they sulked off. Once they were out of earshot, Akaashi buried his face in his hands._

_“God,” He said, his voice trembling. “What a fucking relief.” He pealed his hands away and his eyes were glossy with unshed tears. “What a fucking mess. What the hell. What the hell? Thank you,” Akaashi all but lunged across the table to grip Kenma's arms. “Thank you.”_

_They started hanging out after that. They ate lunch together and sometimes took a walk together after. Akaashi felt at peace for the first time in months. Kenma made sure to be extra affirming when they were talking, to make up for everything. They almost thought it would be enough, but the next week at least half of the team showed up._

_Akaashi was caught off guard, but Kenma was ready. Silently, they grabbed Akaashi’s hand and led him through the wall of angry girls right to their dorm room. Kenma's roommate was in class, and Akaashi sat on Kenma's bed hyperventilating until he came back. Kenma shooed Taketora away._

_“We need a plan.” They finally said._

_“Like what?” Akaashi sighed. “Nothing worked. They’re convinced I’m just playing hard to get. They don’t understand that I can’t just take my packer off and come back…”_

_“What if you did something that really made you unable to play?”_

_“Like what? Break my leg?”_

_Kenma thought about it for a minute._

_“No,” They finally said. “This is university soccer, right? It’s even more competitive than high school. It shouldn’t take much to consider you “ruined”, right?”_

_“Apparently it takes more than illegally high levels of testosterone,” Akaashi mumbled bitterly._

_“What if…” Kenma blushed, suddenly shy. They pushed through it. “What if you just gained a bunch of weight? Would they stop pursuing you then?”_

_Akaashi stared at Kenma with his mouth open. Kenma squirmed under his gaze, begging the floor to swallow them up. Then, Akaashi smiled._

_“That just might do it.” He said. “Could you help me?” Akaashi raised an eyebrow, but it wasn’t judgemental. “You seem to know what you’re doing,” He said amiably._

_“Y-yeah? Sure…” Kenma tries their best to contain themselves. “Um…”_

 

 

“And the rest was history.” Kenma ends it before Akaashi can describe anymore of their awkward stammering.

“Yeah,” Akaashi nods. “Kenma made me fat and the soccer team left me alone.”

“How fatphobic of them.” Kuroo says facetiously.

“Truly.” They agree.

“Did you eventually talk about it though? I mean…” Oikawa furrows his brows. “It wasn’t just a clever plan, you two are…” Oikawa waves his hand around in their general direction.

“Romantically involved?”

“Kinkily involved?”

“Yeah. That. Both of that.”

“Hmm…” Akaashi thinks about it for a minute. “I guess it sort of just fell into place? I mean. We had stuff in common and we saw each other every day and Kenma had their hands in my mouth all the time, so… it was bound to happen?”

“It was.” Kenma agrees.

“What if it never happens?”

Kenma shrugs.

“Then you’ll just be like Kuro and I.”

“W-what’s that supposed to mean?” Kuroo balks.

“We could have been together but we’re not.” Kenma says like it’s obvious. “You had a crush on me, remember?”

“Well, yeah, but…” Kuroo looks between Oikawa and Akaashi like he’d rather die than have this conversation in front of anyone.

“We don’t have to talk about it,” Kenma says.

“I know, but…”

“Did you think I didn’t know?” Kenma guesses.

“Well no, not really, I mean… you know everything, but…” Kuroo takes a deep breath. “If I tell myself you didn’t know then I can also tell myself you didn’t reject me.”

“I didn’t reject you.” Kenma says bluntly.

“You did, though!” Kuroo’s voice breaks. “You knew how I felt and you didn’t do anything. You didn’t want it so you just waited for it to go away.”

“That’s not what happened.” Kenma sounds severe.

“What happened then? Because that’s definitely what it feels like right now.”

Kenma takes a deep breath.

“You didn’t really want me.”

“What do you mean I didn’t want you? That’s not true! How could you know that? How could you think that?!”

“Kuro.”

“What.”

“You like boys.”

“So?”

“I’m not a boy.”

“I know that.”

“And you don’t see a problem with that?”

“No,” Kuroo says with conviction. “I see you as you are and I love you as you are. I don’t care that you’re not a guy, it’s just another great thing about you.”

“I’m fat, too.”

“That’s not news Kenma, you’ve been fat for years.”

“And you don’t care?”

“It’s cute. It looks good on you. It makes you happy. Why would I have anything bad to think about it?”

“You’re always telling me to go outside, and you tell me weird stuff about how my body should work all the time.”

“Kenma.” Kuroo looks like a kicked puppy. “I tell you to go outside so you can get some air, that’s all. And I talk about biology all the time, not just with you.”

“I can confirm,” Oikawa says quietly.

“I want you to be healthy and live long, but I’m not complacent, I did my research. That stuff has nothing to do with being fat or not.”

Kenma's face looks like they just let go of years’ worth of worry in one blow.

“It wouldn’t have worked anyway,” They say quietly.

“I know,” Kuroo says.

“I love you.”

“I love you too.” Kuroo smiles at Kenma tenderly. He turns to Akaashi. “You’re taking good care of them, I assume?”

“Kuro!” Kenma exclaims, blushing.

“I am.” Akaashi confirms. Oikawa feels like an extra in a movie. Or like Nick Caraway in The Great Gatsby. He better not start drinking as a result of this.

“Good,” Kuroo says, satisfied. Oikawa can feel the jumble of emotions radiating off his friend but he knows it’s not the time to address it.

“Hey, Akaashi?” Kenma looks like they’re about to say something really important. “You know a Bokuto Koutarou, right?” They say instead. Akaashi and Kuroo snort at the same time, amused by the familiar evasive manoeuvre.

“Of course,” Akaashi confirms. “Who wants to know?”

“Tooru mentioned him the other day and I knew the name was familiar.”

“You know Bokuto-kun?” Oikawa asks.

“Yeah,” Akaashi smiles tenderly. “Remember the friend who went to the clinic with me?” Oikawa nods. “That was him.”

 

 

_Akaashi was miserable. Soccer didn’t feel like enough anymore. Nothing did. He was sixteen and stringy and his boobs were in the way and he felt week. He could barely pay attention in class. His tights were itchy, his skirt was too short, his sleeves were too tight, and his hair tickled his face. As soon as the bell rang, he leapt out of his seat and ran down to the soccer field. He didn’t have practice today, but the boys did. He didn’t know what to expect, but anything was better than staying complacent._

_Once he got there, he lost his momentum. On the girls’ team he was one of the tallest, but here he felt short and small, just like he did in class. It felt like there was a wall between him and the other players. Maybe it was his stupid uniform or how he didn’t have the guts to cut his long black hair yet. He felt like throwing up. They hadn’t noticed him yet, so he quickly stole a ball while they were running laps and hid under the bleachers. In the small shady place he practiced the same moves as them. He didn’t think any of them had noticed until the end of practice, when the first years were running after scattered balls. Akaashi saw his golden eyes first. Bokuto was shorter than him back then but he was already buff._

_“I’m gonna need that one too, you know,” He said. He looked like he was speaking to a ghost, but reluctantly Akaashi came out and handed him the ball._

_“Did anyone else see?” Akaashi asked glumly._

_“Nah, I don’t think so.” Bokuto smiled. “You’re on the other team, right?”_

_“…Yeah.” Akaashi didn’t know how Bokuto knew not to call it a girls’ team. Maybe he didn’t. Maybe it was just luck._

_“Do you wanna practice with me?” He asked brightly. “Everyone else always wants to go home, but you probably need to stretch your legs, right? It’s pretty cramped in there._

_Akaashi nodded and their friendship started._

_A few months in, Bokuto got kind of weird. He wouldn’t really look at Akaashi’s face, even when they were practicing together, and he stopped doing those little things that made Akaashi feel like he was just one of the guys. A week later on Valentines’ Day, he tried to confess._

_“Thank you, but…” Akaashi took a deep breath. “I’m not a girl!” He finally said. Another pair of people confessing nearby turned to look at him, but he ignored them. “Bokuto-kun, I’m not… I can’t…”_

_“That’s okay!” Bokuto exclaimed. “I like guys too! I like everyone,” He smiled widely. “I mean. Not everyone. Like. I don’t confess like this to everyone. But like. You know what I mean.” He started getting flustered. Akaashi reassured him, but he didn’t take him up on his offer. It seemed too good to be true to have a boyfriend that would let him be his boyfriend even when he still looked very much like not that. Bokuto respected his decision, and remained by his side in every other way he knew how. They became inseparable, and everyone thought they were dating anyway._

 

 

“What happened after that?” Oikawa asks.

“Nothing, really,” Akaashi says. “I graduated and we stayed in touch. We’re both from Tokyo so it wasn’t too hard. And then this year he’s in Miyagi and I’m here and we chat sometimes.” Akaashi shrugs.

“Has he met Kenma?”

“Yeah,” Akaashi smiles. “He has a crush on them too now, it’s pretty cute.” Oikawa can’t blame him.

“So the moral of the story is,” Kenma leans forward. “If you confess you’ll be fine, and if you don’t you’ll be fine.”

“But both guys in this scenario got rejected!” Oikawa wails.

“Well yeah, but both of them still have their friendship!” Kenma yells back.

“That’s…!”

“It was supposed to be uplifting!”

“It was!”

Kuroo laughs.

“Just do it, okay?” He ruffles Oikawa’s hair. “It’s better than not doing anything, trust me.” He smiles and it’s still kind of sad, but Oikawa gets it.

“Okay,” He says to Kuroo. “Okay,” He says to himself. “I’ll do it.”

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Week: The boys are back in town!


	13. The Perseid Meteor Shower

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A timely visit shakes things up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1) I'm so sorry this took so long!! My job is ridiculous! I finally cobbled together enough the time and mental energy to move this plot along :p
> 
> 2) To the lovely person who commissioned me! I posted a progress pic on my tumblr and I'm waiting your approval to colour and finish it! Please send me feedback, even if you don't want anything changed! :D

 

 

[☆TOORU☆] hey!!!!!! (*≧▽≦)ﾉ *:・ﾟ✧

[IWACHAN] Hey :)  
[IWACHAN] I was wondering…  
[IWACHAN] Bokuto is coming to visit Akaashi.  
[IWACHAN] And I was thinking maybe…  
[IWACHAN] I mean…  
[IWACHAN] Finals are done…  
[IWACHAN] And Makki and Mattsun finally went home...

[☆TOORU☆] yes iwa-chan!!!! you should tag along and come see me!!!! 《《o(≧▽≦)o》》

[IWACHAN] Heh.  
[IWACHAN] Was it that obvious?

[☆TOORU☆] yeah!! (*•̀ᴗ•́*)و ̑̑

 

 

“Wake up you two, they’re going to be here in like an hour!” Oikawa throws a pillow across the room. It lands on someone’s butt. Oikawa can’t tell where’s Kenma and where’s Akaashi when they’re both under the covers. “Come oooooon,” He whines. “I don’t know what to weaaar…”

“Five more minutes…” Akaashi’s deep voice sounds even deeper when it’s groggy.

“Five more hours…” Kenma chimes in.

“No!” Oikawa throws another pillow. Kenma throws it back.

“Fine!” They huff.

 

It still takes them almost thirty minutes to get up and be awake enough to take a look at Oikawa’s closet. Not that he’s counting. Not that he’s panicking. His appearance felt so much more effortless back when he had a school uniform and didn’t know he was crushing on his best friend. Kenma and Akaashi bicker over his pants but settle fairly easily on a bright blue shirt. He pulls them on just quickly enough that he has time to run a hand through his hair before someone knocks at the door.

“Are you all decent in there?” Oikawa recognizes Bokuto’s voice.

“Yeaaaah!” Kenma calls over toward the door even though Akaashi’s not done putting his shirt on yet.

“No!” He yelps and ducks into the space between Kenma's desk and their bed. There isn’t usually a space there so Kenma also makes a sound of surprise and their bed gets moved two feet with them still on it. Oikawa gets up to unlock the door and that’s the chaos that greets Bokuto and Iwaizumi in the morning.

“Hey,” They both say. “Good morning?” They tilt their heads the same way and it’s pretty cute to see the way they’ve been rubbing off on each other over the last semester.

“Good morning!” A voice calls from behind the two bulky boys. They both jolt in surprise.

“Hey, Kuro.” Kenma calls to him while straightening themselves out.

“Hey,” Akaashi crawls out of his hiding place fully dressed. “Cool nails,” Akaashi nods down to Bokuto and Iwaizumi’s sparkly polish.

“Thanks!” Bokuto almost shouts before pouncing on Akaashi, trapping him in a bear hug. “I missed you,” He says into his hair.

“Me too.” Akaashi’s fingers tighten their hold on Bokuto’s t-shirt.  Reflexively, Oikawa’s eyes dart to Kenma, but they’re just smiling fondly. He feels a tap on his shoulder.

“I missed you too, you know,” Iwaizumi says, smiling. Oikawa leaps into his arms. They don’t say anything for a long time. Behind the embracing friends, Kuroo can be seen trying to give Kenma a hug. Kenma playfully pushes Kuroo’s head away.

 

They arrange themselves on the beds as best as they can, Oikawa on his bed in between Iwaizumi and Kuroo, Akaashi on Kenma's bed between Kenma and Bokuto. Bokuto and Kuroo look up at the same time and make eye contact. Bokuto winks. Kuroo blushes and tucks his head away. Kenma distributes snacks.

“Aren’t you gonna run out of money, feeding everyone like that?” Kuroo says to distract himself.

“Worth it,” Kenma whispers. Everyone in the know laughs. Bokuto gives Akaashi a questioning look and Akaashi jiggles his belly in response. Oikawa glances at Iwaizumi but his friend is distracted by his phone. He nudges his shoulder with his own.

“What’s up?”

“Oh nothing…” Iwaizumi sighs. “Makki and Mattsun are just being Makki and Mattsun.”

“Being silly?”

“Not exactly…”

“They’re all weird about their relationship again.” Kuroo fills in.

“Why do you know this?!” Oikawa turns to his friend indignantly.

“What?” Kuroo shrugs. “We’ve been messaging.”

“They didn’t want to disturb you during your exams.” Oikawa pouts. “We all know how you get.”

Across the room, Kenma is playing a video game while Bokuto and Akaashi catch up. Bokuto makes sure to send occasional questions Kenma's way as well and Oikawa can tell they appreciate it even when it takes them out of their game.

Oikawa decides to take the lull in his own conversation to shoot Makki a text.

 

[☆TOORU☆] everything okay? ( •᷄⌓•᷅ )

[M(✧Д✧)KKI] …  
[M(✧Д✧)KKI] 彡( - _ - ; ) 彡  
[M(✧Д✧)KKI] you should probably ask mattsun.

[☆TOORU☆] let me know if you need anything, okay?

[M(✧Д✧)KKI] thanks.

 

Oikawa looks up but the conversation seems to have carried on without him. He quickly types Matsukawa a message.

 

[☆TOORU☆] hey ((((爾△爾))))  
[☆TOORU☆] what’s going on? ల(｀°Δ°)

 

Oikawa has never been the best at staying neutral. In the few minutes it takes for Mattsun to reply, Oikawa starts to feel regret about the tone he chose. It doesn’t end up being important.

 

[MATTSUN|ω・)] Did you ever find out why Makki and I broke up?

[☆TOORU☆] no  
[☆TOORU☆] neither of you mentioned it

[MATTSUN|ω・)] well  
[MATTSUN|ω・)] uh  
[MATTSUN|ω・)] I said I couldn’t commit  
[MATTSUN|ω・)] I haven’t ever dated anyone else  
[MATTSUN|ω・)] not that that’s an excuse  
[MATTSUN|ω・)] and I wanted to uh  
[MATTSUN|ω・)] play the field.

[☆TOORU☆] there’s nothing wrong with that

[MATTSUN|ω・)] huh? (,,꒪꒫꒪,,)

[☆TOORU☆] there’s nothing wrong with wanting that and breaking up ( ◉⌓◉ )

[MATTSUN|ω・)] but I destroyed our relationship for no reason

[☆TOORU☆] it was a valid reason, mattsuntsun *:・ﾟ✧  
[☆TOORU☆] and you didn’t destroy it  
[☆TOORU☆] you’re still friends! ⊂((・▽・))⊃

[MATTSUN|ω・)]  …I don’t know about that anymore.

[☆TOORU☆] what happened? ( ・◇・)？

[MATTSUN|ω・)] I got a girlfriend.

 

"Let’s go on a triple date!!" Bokuto’s booming voice shocks Oikawa out of his shock for Mattsun’s revelation.

“W-what?” He asks weakly.

“Bokuto-kun, you’re not dating anyone.” Kenma points out.

“Not yet!” He looks directly at Kuroo. Kuroo blinks, then blushes. Oikawa turns from Kuroo to Iwaizumi with a questioning look in his eyes. Iwaizumi shrugs and smiles.

“It’s settled!” Bokuto exclaims. He stops dead in his tracks. “Where are we going?”

 

 

They find a bigger crowded izakaya where they can blend in and get the last table in the back. It looks and feels like a mixer, but a little less awkward. The place is packed with university students but they don’t recognize anyone. They order food, beer, and sake, and it doesn’t take long before the conversation takes off. They’re swapping anecdotes and memories and Oikawa feels like he’s known everyone for years. It’s a warm, pleasant feeling that goes well with the alcohol that shouldn’t be in his veins right now. Even Kenma and Akaashi are still underaged. Maybe that’s why Akaashi suggested this place.

Bokuto clearly has a thing for Kuroo and it seems to be going well. They sit facing each other and swap looks and quips and Oikawa wouldn’t be surprised if they were playing footsies under the table. Kenma and Akaashi are also sitting facing each other and Oikawa tries his best to ignore the shenanigans they’re up to. Every once in a while Kenma quietly laughs at him and pokes his own belly under the table. Oikawa takes a big gulp of beer, but the bloat it’s giving him isn’t helping. Iwaizumi sits in front of him taking everything in strides. He’s so good. Oikawa can’t really look at him either. He’s still trying to keep his feelings under wraps and the tipsier he gets the less possible that seems.

Oikawa feels like they’re in a romantic comedy, trapped in a will they won’t they scenario. Are they fake dating? Why can’t they be real dating? Oikawa steels himself and looks directly into Iwaizumi’s face. He’s busy listening to Bokuto tell a soccer story about Akaashi. Maybe Iwaizumi feels his stare of maybe he sees him out of the corner of his eye. He turns and smiles. Oikawa melts.

He hopes they will.

Akaashi orders more food for Bokuto so Kenma orders more food for Akaashi but then Akaashi orders some back and Bokuto orders Kenma food and Kuroo ends up ordering Kenma and Akaashi even more stuff and Kenma orders more for Oikawa and Iwaizumi has no idea what’s going on but that somehow makes it even funnier.

“You’ll help me with it, right?” Oikawa asks coyly instead of explaining anything.

“That doesn’t count then!” Akaashi all but shouts from across the table. “I’m placing another order for you!” It’s too much fun seeing him get rowdy when he’s drunk so Oikawa doesn’t refuse.

“You know,” Iwaizumi starts, looking almost flirty. “If ever I was wondering where that weight you’ve been putting on was coming from, I don’t think I have to wonder anymore,” He smiles in a way that makes it clear he’s joking but it makes Oikawa’s stomach flip in five different directions, all of them good or aroused. Iwaizumi noticed. He never said anything. But he’s been thinking about it. And it doesn’t seem like he minds at all. Maybe his statement was neutral, but Oikawa could always his tone like an open book.

The waitress arrives and takes everyone’s orders. She’s not as surprised as Oikawa was expecting, but then again she must be used to the drunken university crowd, kink or no kink. The food arrives in instalments and they greet every dish with a chorus of “oooooh!!!”s and “ooooOOOOh!!!”s, waiting to see who it’s for. They don’t chant at anyone to chug anything but the spirit of competition is alive, especially for Kenma and Akaashi who both have the most food to chow through. Bokuto is impressed. Oikawa is turned on. Kuroo is resigned. Iwaizumi is bemused. Kenma and Akaashi seem to be loving every minute of it. Dishes start arriving for other people but the two of them don’t slow down their own pace.

 

 

Everyone ends up full and bloated by the time they’re all walking out of the bar, but nobody seems to mind. They start the short walk home in the night. The streets are lit up with restaurants, bars, and other entertainment establishments and the sidewalks are full of friends, couples, and obvious hook-ups stumbling their way around. Oikawa himself has to hang on to Iwaizumi’s shoulder just to walk and he feels terribly out of breath. He could be imagining it but it feels like Iwaizumi is rubbing circles on his back. He leans into it. At this point Oikawa feels more blurry from the food than the alcohol, and he almost misses it when Bokuto tugs on Kuroo’s hand (How long have they been holding hands?) and gestures toward a cheesy looking Love Hotel. He sees Bokuto say something to Akaashi and sees Akaashi nod. He doesn’t catch the happy wink Kuroo sends Kenma. Oikawa waves them goodbye and they both wave back before entering the little neon wrapped building.

They’re almost back at the dorms when Kenma turns back to look at Oikawa.

“I’m spending the night in Akaashi’s room, so. Have Fun.” They giggle at their own insinuation and when Akaashi pulls on their joined hands to bring Kenma closer, their squishy bodies bounce off each other. Oikawa is already blushing from what Kenma just said but it’s possible he just turns redder. Iwaizumi doesn’t say anything and Oikawa won’t look at his face to guess what he’s thinking. Akaashi unlocks the outside door to the building and they part ways at the elevator.

Oikawa’s heart beats faster as he fumbles his room key and almost drops it. They get in.

Oikawa and Iwaizumi are alone

Oikawa’s phone buzzes in his pocket but he doesn’t answer it.

 

 

[KUROO(=‐ω‐=)] tHE ROOM IS V PINKK  
[KUROO(=‐ω‐=)] tHE BOY IS TOOOO

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Week: where will this special night take everyone?


	14. Comet ISON

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A rare astrological event graces the skies of one particular Todai dorm room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've mentioned this on my tumblr before but I intend to finish this fic by the end of August! As you might have seen, I've updated the chapter counter with the finalized amount of chapters expected for this fic, so expect more than one chapter a week for most of this month! :D

 

 

Oikawa flicks on the main light and takes his shoes off. It feels too bright and too cold so he turns on his desk lamp and places his phone by his open laptop before walking back to shut off the glaring ceiling light. Iwaizumi slips his sneakers off and stands by the door, not awkward but not comfortable enough to sit down without being told to.

Iwaizumi and Oikawa are alone and Oikawa wants to confess.

Oikawa’s ears feel like they’re ringing. He can’t hear anyone or anything else. Maybe he’s imagining it, but he feels like he’s heating up, like the room is getting smaller and Iwaizumi is getting closer.

He is getting closer.

“Hey,” Iwaizumi stops at a reasonable distance. “Are you okay?” Oikawa nods. Iwaizumi doesn’t look like he’ll question it more than that. “Wanna watch a movie?”

“Good idea,” Oikawa manages to croak out.

He doesn’t know what to say so he tries to work up to it, but nothing comes out.

Iwaizumi sits himself at Oikawa’s computer and searches online for something they’ll both enjoy.

He’s overthinking.

Oikawa sits down on his bed. They’re going to have to sit on the bed together. They were sitting on it earlier so why does this feel different? He knows why. This is intimate. They’re alone. They’ve been alone before but everything now feels precious and important. Any sudden movement could be his last. He tries to relax his shoulders at least but they’re as tight as his pounding heart. He steals glances at Iwaizumi but his best friend is still focused on the screen. He types something and uses the tracking pad to click on things even when Oikawa has a perfectly working computer mouse next to his laptop.

The button of his jeans digs into the flab of his belly uncomfortably. Oikawa squirms. His stomach protests. How long has he been this full? He breathes out but it’s a laboured breath. Automatically, a hand goes up to the dome of his gut and he tries to push on it to relieve it. It doesn’t work. A sound must have slipped past his lips because Iwaizumi turns to look at him questioningly.

“Are you sure you’re okay? You ate a lot.” Oikawa feels himself blush. “Is your stomach okay?” Is he being that obvious? Oikawa glances down. His belly so bloated and full it looks like an exaggeration of itself. Also his hand is still on it.

“It’s fine,” Oikawa tries to lie.

“Do you want any medicine?” Iwaizumi sees right through it.

“I don’t have any.” Oikawa knows Kenma has some but he doesn’t know where it is and the thought of digging through their stuff to find it is unthinkable. Iwaizumi stands.  He looks sympathetic, but also like someone who’s seconds away from saying I Told You So. Oikawa wants him to drop it. It’s embarrassing, even if Iwaizumi doesn’t mind. Besides, there’s nothing to do about it except…

It slips out on its own.

 

“Could you give me a belly rub?”

 

Iwaizumi blinks.

“Y-you don’t have to!” Oikawa almost yells, shrinking back on the bed and waving his hands in front of his face. He’s burning up. Did he really say that out loud?! Did he really just ask that from his childhood best friend?! “You really don’t have to!” He yelps. His stomach lurches with his panic.

Iwaizumi steps forward.

Oikawa pulls his comforter closer to himself, trying to cover himself up. It doesn’t work, the fabric is trapped underneath him and it just makes a mess of everything. Oikawa swallows.

“Sure,” He says calmly. “If you think it’ll help, I don’t mind.” His tone is perfectly even. Under normal circumstances Oikawa might think Iwaizumi is hiding something. Right now he’s so blinded by his embarrassment, his discomfort, and the lingering alcohol in his system that he just wills himself to take that at face value. It really would help.

Iwaizumi sits on the bed beside him.

“Come on,” He says. He gently pries Oikawa’s blanket out of his hands. He tries to smooth it down but it doesn’t do much. He motions for Oikawa to get comfortable.

Oikawa slowly unfolds his legs out in front of him. A pillow falls on the floor. Iwaizumi picks it up and places it behind Oikawa’s back, forcing him to scoot forward. Now in a semi-reclined position he can really feel how heavy his whole midsection is. He ate so much. He ordered a lot to begin with, and then Kenma got him even more stuff. Beer, fried foods like karaage and tempura, heavy food like curry and sweet sticky teriyaki. Iwaizumi helped, but even as an athlete he couldn’t keep up. Oikawa put away more food in one night than he usually would on a normal day. No wonder his stomach is protesting so much.

With ghosting fingers, Iwaizumi lifts Oikawa’s shirt up.

“W-what are you doing?” Oikawa looks up at him, suddenly in a panic again.

“Getting better access,” Iwaizumi says like it’s obvious. “Beside, part of the relief is supposed to be the warmth of my hands, right? It’ll be hard to feel it through your shirt like that.” He’s right, but that doesn’t stop Oikawa from being really flustered about it.

He’s shy and a little self-conscious. His skin is littered with stretch marks, older white ones and fresh pink ones. He’s soft and flabby like pudding and he’s learned to love that, but he’s never been in a position to show it off yet. His belly is divided into two parts which feels unusual when he only has Kenma and Akaashi to compare to. What will Iwaizumi think of it? Will it make it harder for him to do what Oikawa asked? Are his fingers going to get caught on his rolls? Wouldn’t that be mortifying?

“Relax,” Iwaizumi scolds him. “That’s the whole point, isn’t it?” His voice is rough but he’s not mad. If Oikawa could be bothered to look up, he’d notice that his best friend is actually blushing. Maybe even flushed. His hands are shaking. His heart is beating just as fast as Oikawa’s. He’s nervous too.

Iwaizumi places a hot palm on Oikawa’s belly.

“Mnh,” A little sound escapes Oikawa’s lips.

“I’ll be careful,” Iwaizumi promises. Oikawa believes him.

His hand starts moving, soon joined by his other one. Together they rub large circles on Oikawa’s flesh much like he had done for Kenma once before. Oikawa’s eyes close in relief so he doesn’t see the way Iwaizumi looks at him, first at his face in awe, then at his body with reverence. He’s mesmerized. Iwaizumi doesn’t use his hands half as much as his feet but they feel rough and hard against the silky smooth skin of Oikawa’s belly. His flesh is pliant. His belly looks a bit like a cloud but it feels more like mochi. For a flash of a second, Iwaizumi imagines what it would be like to bite it. Not hard, just enough to feel this heavenly texture against his teeth and nose and cheeks. His hands falter. Oikawa doesn’t seem to notice.

He presses a little harder into the softest part, the second half of Oikawa’s belly that’s mostly just fat. He doesn’t know if it does anything to relieve Oikawa of his pain, but he’s way too curious and his friend doesn’t seem to mind. He squirms a little but a smile spreads on his face. Iwaizumi’s blush intensifies. Of course he wants to feel him, but even if this feels like the perfect opportunity, that’s not why he’s here. He needs to stay on task and make his best friend feel good.

Oikawa is feeling absolutely blissed out. He’s probably the heaviest he’s ever been but he feels like he’s floating. It would be cliché to think that Iwaizumi’s hands feel like heaven but they really do. They’re warm and not too rough and he’s gentle but not scared off. Oikawa starts off the most self-conscious he’s ever been. He goes from feeling like he’s going to burst into flames to feeling like he could melt into the mattress. When Iwaizumi was telling him to relax Oikawa didn’t think he could. It only took about a minute to change that completely. He feels open and vulnerable but the payoff is more than worth it. He wants to be fully present for this but he can’t help but close his eyes. He feels hyperaware of Iwaizumi’s hands, his warmth, the way his knee presses lightly into the softness of his thigh. His stomach is feeling better, his muscles feel like butter, his fat feels appreciated. His brain is completely already overtaken with pleasure when Iwaizumi dares to go lower and really aim for the squishiest part of him. He doesn’t stay there for long and Oikawa has half a mind to move his hand back down but he doesn’t. Instead he finds himself slipping into a semi meditative state, drawn to focus on tactile feelings only.

He doesn’t know how long it lasts. It feels like at least an hour but it could have been more. Iwaizumi doesn’t seem to tire at all. Occasional sounds slip past Oikawa’s lips assuring him he’s doing a great job. They both feel how Oikawa’s belly softens overtime, getting more and more malleable with the digestion he’s doing. He feels the haze of all the beer he drank slowly leaving as well. Is this romantic? If Oikawa didn’t know about anything kinky would he think anything of this?

“Are you sleeping?” Iwaizumi asks eventually.

“No,” Oikawa replies, eyes fluttering open. “Feels too nice.”

“I’m glad,” Iwaizumi says as he breathes out. He looks a little dark, a little red, but it’s probably just the dim lighting and the alcohol. “Are you feeling better?”

“Yeah,” Oikawa hopes that doesn’t mean Iwaizumi is going to stop. He doesn’t. He rubs and presses and caresses, gaze fixed on what his hands are doing. He’s still focused on making Oikawa’s stomach digest better, but occasionally he wanders, exploring Oikawa’s sides, his love handles, the fold where his belly usually hangs over his pants. With his eyes open now, Oikawa can watch him do it. It’s definitely romantic. Tender. It’s also sexy, which isn’t a direction Oikawa should be exploring right now. Even if having sex is exactly what everyone else from this evening is now up to. They’re not there yet. This is a big enough step.

He never dared dream of this but now that it’s happening Oikawa’s not sure he could go on without it.

 

Eventually Iwaizumi does stop. He looks regretful as he pulls away, straightening his back and rolling his shoulders to relieve the tension of being hunched over for so long.

“I have to pee.” He announces, looking put upon. Oikawa laughs.

“I’ll be here,” He calls out to Iwaizumi’s back.

He’s not gone long enough for Oikawa to think he was lying. He shuts the door behind himself carefully and sits back in his spot on the bed. He’s not sure if he should continue or not. Oikawa would love it if he did, but he understands that it might be a strange request when they both know he’s feeling better now. It’s getting late. Their friends are probably all passed out already. They should go to sleep. Iwaizumi leans in, placing most of his weight on one hand. His other hand hesitates, curling up on his muscled thigh.

For a second it looks like maybe Oikawa won’t have to confess. His face is so close. Are his lips parting? Maybe Iwaizumi will kiss him? Maybe he’ll confess instead?

“Oikawa…”

 

And then Oikawa’s phone blows up.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Time: The text message flood gets dealt with and the evening comes to its natural conclusion.


	15. Radio Frequencies for Space Communication

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oikawa catches up on missed communications.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Today was my last day at work so here's a little chapter to celebrate!

 

 

“What is that?” Iwaizumi asks, looking behind him at Oikawa’s desk. His phone is perilously close to launching itself to the ground. Oikawa looks too.

“I think my phone is done charging. It probably turned itself on.” He gets up with only a little difficulty and grabs it right before it falls. It continues to buzz in his hands for a solid minute. “Guess I was pretty popular this past hour.” He says wryly. He’s not sure how close to Iwaizumi he should be sitting so he stays standing. So as to not get confused, Oikawa opens the flood of messages in chronological order. He starts with his unfinished chat with Mattsun. It takes him a moment to realize where they left off.

He immediately feels guilty.

 

[MATTSUN|ω・)] Oi.  
[MATTSUN|ω・)] Oikawa  
[MATTSUN|ω・)] Oikawa you jerk say something  
[MATTSUN|ω・)] I said  
[MATTSUN|ω・)] I have a girlfriend.  
[MATTSUN|ω・)] god  
[MATTSUN|ω・)] you’re impossible  
[MATTSUN|ω・)] are you actually ignoring me?  
[MATTSUN|ω・)] whatever.  
[MATTSUN|ω・)] im going to sleep

[MATTSUN|ω・)] no  
[MATTSUN|ω・)] fuck that.  
[MATTSUN|ω・)] im going out.

 

They’ve been back at the dorms for longer than Oikawa thought. The last message came in two hours ago. Oikawa is still holding his breath when he opens Makki’s messages next.

 

[M(✧Д✧)KKI] oikawa  
[M(✧Д✧)KKI] oikawa  
[M(✧Д✧)KKI] o  
[M(✧Д✧)KKI] i  
[M(✧Д✧)KKI] k  
[M(✧Д✧)KKI] a  
[M(✧Д✧)KKI] w  
[M(✧Д✧)KKI] a  
[M(✧Д✧)KKI] tooru  
[M(✧Д✧)KKI] oi  
[M(✧Д✧)KKI] t o o r u  
[M(✧Д✧)KKI] (ꐦ ಠ皿ಠ )  
[M(✧Д✧)KKI] what did you do?  
[M(✧Д✧)KKI] mattsun just left??  
[M(✧Д✧)KKI] nvm

 

He has a few more messages from Kuroo but one of them is a picture and he figures he can open those later. The last place to look is the one that scares him the most. The group chat.

 

[MATTSUN|ω・)] tooru?  
[MATTSUN|ω・)] seriously  
[MATTSUN|ω・)] did you fall asleep?

[M(✧Д✧)KKI] his phone probably died

[MATTSUN|ω・)] hm.

[M(✧Д✧)KKI] hm.

[MATTSUN|ω・)] sorry.

[M(✧Д✧)KKI] for what?  
[M(✧Д✧)KKI] just leaving like that?  
[M(✧Д✧)KKI] its none of my business  
[M(✧Д✧)KKI] we’re just roommates.

[MATTSUN|ω・)] makki…

[M(✧Д✧)KKI] or did you mean the other thing?

[MATTSUN|ω・)] makki…

[M(✧Д✧)KKI] what?  
[M(✧Д✧)KKI] Makki what?

[MATTSUN|ω・)] I don’t have to apologize for that.

 

Oikawa inhales sharply. He didn’t intend for his words to be used that way, even if Mattsun is right.

 

[M(✧Д✧)KKI] guess not.

[MATTSUN|ω・)] what do you want me to do then?

[M(✧Д✧)KKI] Nothing.

[MATTSUN|ω・)] clearly not!  
[MATTSUN|ω・)] very clearly not nothing!  
[MATTSUN|ω・)] you want me to break up with her? Is that it?

 

Oikawa feels his blood run cold. He can’t imagine the face on Mattsun for him to be texting that kind of exclamation point. He’s never seen him angry before. Displeased, disgruntled, vaguely annoyed. He didn’t think Mattsun had it in him to shout. There’s a gap between Mattsun’s exclamations and Makki’s reply where the app they’re all using has inserted a time stamp. Oikawa doesn’t feel like scrolling back up to calculate how long Makki had to let himself breathe before he could type.

 

[M(✧Д✧)KKI] …where are you?

[MATTSUN|ω・)] …  
[MATTSUN|ω・)] the bench in front of the vending machines across the street.

 

Oikawa sighs. He flops on the bed and slumps against Iwaizumi. He was asleep. He makes a sound like he wants to ask what’s going on but he’s too groggy to form words. Oikawa doesn’t reply.

 

To Mattsun he sends: 

[☆TOORU☆] im sorry that was shitty timing  
[☆TOORU☆] youre perfect ok??  
[☆TOORU☆] it’ll be ok

 

To Makki he sends:

[☆TOORU☆] im here  
[☆TOORU☆] Im sorry I wasn’t there when you needed me but im here now  
[☆TOORU☆] if you need anything just call

 

And to the group chat he writes: 

[☆TOORU☆] I hope you two are doing well  
[☆TOORU☆] let me know when  you can, okay?  
[☆TOORU☆] you beans.

 

He waits a few minutes but no one answers him. He hopes they’re sleeping. He hopes they’re together. When he closes his eyes he feels like he can see them, sitting on a park bench not looking at each other, faces illuminated by the blue glow of the vending machines. He wants to be wrong. He wants them to be warm, inside, drinking hot chocolate, laughing, not crying.  

“What was that?” Iwaizumi asks, his voice groggy and his breath smelly with old beer.

“Beans being beans,” Oikawa answers vaguely with a yawn. He chases away thoughts of his close friends suffering at their own hands. “I should set up…” He says more to himself, looking at the floor.

“Set what up?”

“My bed to sleep in,” Oikawa says like it’s obvious. “On the floor.”

“What? No…” Oikawa can tell Iwaizumi is still battling the urge to just fall back asleep but it’s a valiant effort. He ends up mostly gesturing and mumbling. “Sleep up here. With me.” He scoots over. “In your own dang bed.”

Oikawa doesn’t know why he thought they’d go back to sleeping separately after they shared Iwaizumi’s tiny bunk bed last time. Maybe he thought Iwaizumi would need some space after what happened tonight. Clearly that doesn’t seem to be an issue. Iwaizumi shimmies out of his jeans and socks and slips under the covers.

“Well okay.”

Oikawa turns the lights off before changing into some pyjamas. He’s not self-conscious. It’s just the order his sleepy brain decided things should go in. He settles in the bed, facing Iwaizumi. His belly swells out in front of him and pushes against Iwaizumi’s shirt covered abs. He’d back up a bit to give him some more room but then his ass would hang off the mattress.

“Do you think they’re going to be okay?”

“Hmngh?”

“Makki and Mattsun.”

“Hmm…” For a second Oikawa thinks he’s lost Iwaizumi to the sandman. Finally he answers. “Yeah. Eventually.”

Oikawa hums at that. He’s probably right. It’s still twisting something in him to think that maybe they won’t. He tries to think of something else.

“Iwa-chan?”

“Mnyeahh?”

“Why would Hinata tell you to fake date me?”

Iwaizumi seems to wake up a bit at that.

“Well…”

“Wait, so he knows we’re not actually dating.” It’s more of a realization than a question.

“Yeah. I kind of gave it away when he brought it up. Sorry.”

“It’s for the best,” Oikawa shrugs. “It’s more honest.” He wants to tell Iwaizumi why he did it but he gets the feeling that Iwaizumi already knows. A few minutes pass.

 

“Hey, Tooru,” Iwaizumi hesitates. “Do you want to call off this whole fake boyfriend thing?”

Despite his hesitation, his voice makes it clear that he doesn’t want to.

He holds his breath and waits for an answer.

But Oikawa has already fallen asleep.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Week: It's time for things to be said outright.


End file.
